This challenging piece of theatre was commissioned by The Melbourne Theatre Company, written by Dan Giovannoni and first performed by the MTC in 2020. It brings us three separate stories, mostly told by three teenage characters in the first person. Immi, who lives in an authoritarian society, gains fame by slapping one of the oppressive peacekeepers – SLAP. Sofia becomes internationally known for her impassioned speech about a high school shooting – BANG. Darby becomes famous for attempting, with his crush, Daniel, to set the record for the world’s longest kiss, in a Woolies car park – KISS. While the characters remain separate, the script intertwines their narratives in a complex and gripping way. All three stories are timely, relatable and raise serious issues for not only the young, but for our world today.
This is the territory bravely entered by the Concordia College Year 12 Drama class. And they did a fine job in doing so. All three had telling monologues, and carried them with sincerity and credibility. Gwen Morris skilfully played the role of Immi who slapped the oppressor. She showed the character’s courage, decency and frustration at being suppressed for so long. Her sense of dramatic purpose was intense. Amali Noble, as Sofia, made the most of her dramatic range and was entirely credible in her impassioned speech about high school shootings. Zac Hawkins played Darby as vulnerable, yet forthright and un-self-conscious about his record attempt in the unlikely setting of a rural Woolies carpark.
The script repeatedly returned to the central stories to further their import. As complex and demanding as that is for the cast, that was not all that they were asked to do. Each played countless supporting roles to aid the others’ story-telling. The character changes were bewildering, yet each performer managed them with conviction and at no times were the audience confused or misled. That was some notable achievement.
The play was staged in the round. The venue – the school’s Drama suite – was intimate but the staging intensified the intimacy. The performance was on a small raised platform surrounded by the audience on all sides. Those in the front rows were in touching distance of the edge of the stage. In those conditions, the cast did remarkably well to maintain focus and movement. In this regard, the Director, Daniel Lynch, managed the performance with dexterity. No sequence could be fixed in the one direction for too long, and often the dialogue swirled round and round, with the cast following each other physically and with their often rapid-fire dialogue. That mirrored the interwoven story lines and greatly increased the audience’s involvement.
By necessity the set had to be stripped right back and the few props – a chair, some crates and little else – were well deployed and imaginatively used by the performers.
This was a bold piece of theatre. It challenged the skills and focus of the cast on a number of levels. They met the challenges and in turn successfully challenged us to confront significant social and moral questions.
