This 80-minute, Second Chance Theatre and Blue Room production can be seen in the Blue Room Main Theatre, Perth Cultural Centre, James Street, Northbridge nightly at the earlier time of 7.00, until Saturday 26^th September.

The set is a bedroom / cabin in a massive, aging spacecraft. The room has three airlock doors, but no windows. Set designer, Sara Chirichilli has created an impressive, ‘well-worn’ room, superbly built by John King. The reality is such, that very quickly you believe that you are on-board. The costumes are by Sophie Braham.

A large interactive computer screen hangs on one wall. The jaw-droppingly ingenious AV design is by Warwick Doddrell, which along with Scott McArdle’s lighting effects brings a completely new environment to the Blue Room theatre.

Tim Brain’s soundscape, combined with Drew Kraplijanov’s subtle music, brings life to the whole scene. (Operated by Daley King)

       The room light comes on, showing a young man, Vincent (Nick Maclaine), asleep on his bed. A semi-robotic voice, Vi (Jo Morris) announces over the spaceship’s Tannoy that it is a new day, before asking what Vincent would like for his breakfast.

       Vincent has been on this same spacecraft alone, since he was three years old. He has not seen another human being in more than twenty years. As he has matured, his desire to know more about his parents, why he is alone in space and what his future holds, has come to the surface of his mind.

       One day whilst resting, a girl in a bathing costume (Emily David) appears in his room. Is she real? On the other hand, is she yet another virtual laser projection? Should Vincent challenge the system, and what will happen if he does?

Nick Maclaine was on stage for the whole 80 minutes; he played several very different characters, with various accents. His energy-packed performance was flawless, as the script swung from pedantic to threatening terror.

Jo Morris, who supplied the controller’s voice, was magnificent as she tried to command the captive space traveller. Emily David also had various characters and personae; the overall teamwork was exceptional, and even on a genre in which I am not usually interested, the suspense was complete.

Scott has a dry sense of humour and there were many comic lines, which helped balance the script mood.

An amazing amount of thought has been put into this production, so I am sure that this play will become a multi-award winner. The acting, set, lighting and AV effects were all supreme. With all of the twists, the story grabs you until the end. Highly recommended.

This 18+ play is being produced by Second Chance Theatre in the Murdoch Drama Workshop, adjacent to Car Park 4, Banksia Drive, Murdoch University, Murdoch.

The sensibly priced tickets are available at the door. The curtain goes up nightly at 7.00 pm until Saturday 30^th August, with one matinée on Saturday afternoon at 1.00 pm.

The set is a black tile design, with white grouting lines. A dormitory area at the front of the stage has three areas of bedding. An office desk at the rear is the warden’s office, with shower areas on each side. The stage is starkly furnished, the emptiness emphasises the isolation and sinister desolation of this 2600 AD concentration camp. (Set and Graphic Design by Nicola Rivers, with some good effects by Stage Manager Milly Dee).

         Since the beginning of time, the weakest groups of people have been picked on by the others. At school 50 years ago, a person with a disability, unusual hair colour or sexual ‘peculiarity’ was instantly an ideal target. They were ‘weak freaks’ who did not conform to society. Now, thankfully, things have generally changed for the better; but with this reform to ‘all being equal’, general good manners can often be considered condescending or patronising. In this story we are taken 600 years into the future, where attitudes have become even more extreme.

      The superficially caring, Doctor Benjamin (Rhys Hyatt) has a new guest at his Facility; she is the highly spirited, intelligent Charlotte (Emily David). As bow-tied, Doctor Ben jokes his way around the amenities tour, Charlotte spots a naked man, Ethan (Scott McArdle) standing motionless in a bucket of cold water. In another corner, lying on the floor is Juliet (Jade Galambosi). She is wearing the regulation grey T-shirt and wool shorts (Wardrobe, Sophie Braham). Charlotte tries to strike up a conversation and show sympathy, but to this Institution, it is a sign of weakness and she is moved on by the ‘kind’ doctor.

      Charlotte discovers that poor Juliet has had a lobotomy, and so is now a harmless member of society. Dr Ben explains the routine of 4 showers per day, interspersed with demonstrations of ‘affection’ towards him. The whole establishment is under the watchful eye of numerous surveillance cameras, all supervised by The Warden (Laughton Mckenzie), an intelligent and logical man, who is actually totally insane and with no moral standards.

    The warped Dr Ben is obviously the Warden’s puppet, but can Ethan’s controlled and submitting silence win him freedom from this hell hole?

Under the well thought-out direction came from the actors themselves. The rich characters, each with their own style of dialogue, attitudes to life and personalities are perfectly presented by the five actors. McArdle, who has already proven himself as a fine writer, director and techie – this lighting design (smoothly operated by Rhianna Hall) instantly depicts the atmosphere required – now sets himself up for a most challenging role, demanding both nudity and displaying a man under tremendous stress.

This Facility has all kinds of torture, physical and mental. Hyatt gave a great performance as a cool leader who could have a massive mood swing at the mention of a single word. The performance was slightly caricaturised, but this helped emphasis the cold, calculating, uncaring manner of the perverted Warden (Mckenzie).

Emily David gave a powerful performance as the new guest, who fearlessly stood up to the controllers. With tears in her eyes, she had several moments when you thought she was going to crack at their attitudes, before carrying on boldly. Jade Galambosi captured the easy going ‘vegetable’ existence, which was still capable of tremendous emotional outbursts.

The atmosphere was topped off with an amazing soundscape (Composer, Aiden Willoughby) that subtly rumbled along in the background; with occasional blend of angelic voices, bringing that slight sign of hope to this wretched establishment.

This is not an easy show to watch, but the stark and brave approach holds one’s concentration for the full 80-minutes, bringing a new genuine fear for the future of the world.