This tightly written, cleverly structured, 55-minute play can be seen Studio Theatre at the Subiaco Arts Centre, 180 Hamersley Road, Subiaco each evening at 7.30 until Saturday 25^th June.

The set shows several roadside shrines, shaded by overhanging branches. Memorials set up by the families and friends for their recently departed. The tree stumps are surrounded by a collection of their friend’s personal treasures, varying from religious statues to fun junk.

The scene is completed with Joe Lui’s incredible lighting and soundscape. The tech operator is Jarrod (?) who applied one of the slowest and most subtle light changes I have seen – great work.

      A young couple are laughing and joking as they drive along a remote Australian country road. Suddenly, their car runs off the road and into a tree. Luckily, they are not injured, but their car is in a sorry state. Even when they realise that they are stuck in the middle of nowhere, the young girl, Abby (Amy Johnston) just chuckles nervously at having avoided death; and asks her angry boyfriend, Sam (Barnaby Pollock) what the Hell had made him run off the road.

     As Sam explains, unconvincingly, how he thought he had seen someone and had swerved to avoid hitting her, a dishevelled old woman steps out of the forest. She introduces herself as Ruth (Nicola Bartlett) and starts chatting to Abby. She asks what Abby does for a living, and discovers that she works for a company called ‘Moving On Inc.’ that carries out house clearances for the traumatised families of recently deceased. Abby chuckles as she explains how many unusual treasures she seems to gather.

      After a while, Ruth says she can get the couple’s car repaired, if they can do her a favour in return. A rather demanding favour!

 

There are plenty of laughs in this creepy and haunting play, as it grabs your attention and keeps you in its grip throughout. The three, very different characters are beautifully portrayed by the cast. Amy Johnston, who is in her first major professional production, played Abby; WAAPA graduate, Barnaby Pollock, accompanies her. Nicola Bartlett, who has been much admired for decades as one of WA’s finest actors, gives a superb performance as Ruth.

Directed by Mikala Westall and dramaturged by Will O’Mahony, the body language and chemistry flow naturally in this most enjoyable piece.

This production oozes quality in every department. Many congratulations to all concerned.

This one hour, interesting piece can be seen at The Curtin Stadium Dome, Dumas Road, Curtin University in Bentley, on Saturday and Sunday evenings at 7.00 until 27^th September. The parking in the multi-storey car park, next to the silver dome, is free after 5.00 pm.

The set is an empty floor with a few props.

The production manager carried two voting boxes to the centre of the stage area, and counted voting tokens that were to decide which of two endings the cast should perform.

       A cello plays soft restful music, as the actors, dressed in cream muslin and cotton, chant in a strange language.

      The five actors roll on the floor trying to stand; they are newly born birds (?) trying to walk. The frustration is palpable. Some find it easy, but there is always one struggler (Amy Johnston), and one runt of the litter (Aaron Smith) who through jealousy is determined to create havoc. He even attacks one of his siblings (Rachel Foucar) who is nurtured back to health by her sister (Angela Donlan).

      We watch as the group learn to fend for themselves and eventually fly.

The poster said ‘7 pm sharp’. On arrival there were no programmes, they had been forgotten to be picked up. As I paid for the tickets, the production manager said to the box office cashier, ‘We will start late to give latecomers a chance to get here’. The audience sat in the cold, unheated venue for 15 minutes waiting – there were no latecomers. Meanwhile the scantily dressed actors were continuing their warm up routine – simply to keep physically warm.

With my ticket, I was handed a plastic token with which to vote; good idea, but although I saw the voting box I had no idea that I had to vote on entering. I wrongly presumed this was for voting after having seen the show.

The production manager announced at the beginning of the play, ‘as you will have gathered the story line from your friends or relatives, we have had a vote to determine tonight’s ending’. Sorry, but I did not have anyone tell me the story in advance, or what the voting was about.

On the positive side, the cast were magnificent, they worked tirelessly. The choreography and athletic action clearly explained what was happening within the story. The clever acting plainly showed frustration, love, sibling rivalry, helping others, the challenges of life and many other aspects of the Icarus story.

The show would benefit from a 25% reduction in the performance time, by trimming each scene or action.

Three people that I have spoken to came close to walking out – because of the cold – but stayed on to support this enthusiastic team. One person thought the action was demonstrating the development of language. Whatever you interpret the storyline as being, you have to admire the cast’s labours.