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| Laila Thaker - Craig Alexander in "The Chosen Vessel" |
Written by Dylan Van Den Berg – Directed by Abbie-Lee Lewis
Set Design by Angie Matsinos – Costume Design by Leah Ridley
Lighting Design by Nathan Sciberras – Sound Design by Kyle
Sheedy.
Street Theatre, Canberra August 9th – 24th
2005. Reviewed by BILL STEPHENS
By claiming the term Aboriginal Gothic to describe his play,
The Chosen Vessel, playwright, Dylan Van Den Berg may well have hit upon
an intriguing way to describe how he tells his stories, and in doing so, also a
way of representing the difference in how indigenous and non-indigenous artists
view events.
Van Den Berg’s play is a re-imagining of Barbara Baynton’s 19th
century short story, first published under the title, The Tramp in 1896,
then later in 1902, in an extended version in a collection of Baynton’s stories
under the title, The Chosen Vessel.
Baynton’s story recounts the horrific events endured by a
young aboriginal woman living alone in the Australian bush with her baby.
The story bears a striking resemblance to Henry Lawson’s, The
Drover’s Wife, which was first published in 1892 just 4 years prior to Baynton’s,
and which has since been re-imagined by Aboriginal artist, Leah Purcel, as a play in 2016, a film
in 2021, and even as an opera scheduled for presentation in the Sydney Opera
House by Opera Australia in 2026.
Although the storyline for The Chosen Vessel involves
nine characters, the playwright has stipulated that all these characters will
be played by two actors. The Woman and Ghost by an Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander, woman-identifying actor; and the rest, who include a Swagman,
Husband, Young Man, Horseman, Barman, Priest and a collection of white men, by
one white, man-identifying actor.
While these stipulations may prove stimulating for actors
and creatives, they provide significant challenges for audiences endeavouring to
keep abreast of the nuances of the story, particularly in a theatre as intimate
as Street Two.
On opening night, despite some excellent work, not all of these
challenges were overcome by director, Abbie-Lee Lewis and her actors, Laila
Thaker and Craig Alexander.
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| Laila Thaker in "The Chosen Vessel" |
As both the woman and the ghost, Laila Thaker is required by the script, as The Woman, to act out the events, and as the Ghost, comment on the action and provide connecting narration. At some points the ghost spoke from behind a scrim, but not always. So, whether she was speaking as ghost or woman was sometimes difficult to discern.
Similarly, despite Craig Alexander’s undeniable skills as a versatile actor, the unrealistic expectation that any actor could be convincing in so many diverse roles, made it difficult to become invested in many of his characterisations, despite his best actorly efforts.
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| Craig Alexander in "The Chosen Vessel" |
Leah Ridley’s costumes were generally satisfactory, although her decision to have the woman arrive in a costume that suggested wealth, while her environment indicated otherwise, was puzzling, and the poorly rendered priest’s cassock, a distraction.
Abbie-lee Lewis’s atmospheric setting depicting a stark, bare
kitchen with scrims and shrubbery representing the surrounding bush and other locations, effectively
lit by Nathan Sciberras and enhanced with a moody soundscape by Kyle Sheedy created the desired noir feel, but again the intimacy
of the theatre meant that the mechanics required for the effects were often
exposed to the audience seated opposite,
depriving the storytelling of much of its mystery.
Therefore, despite the obvious care and attention that had obviously
been lavished on this premiere production, it was not until the following morning,
with the opportunity to read the full text, contained in the generous printed
program, did the beauty and spirituality of Van Den Berg’s writing, and the subtleness of the
many plot nuances contained therein, reveal themselves.
With The Chosen Vessel Van Den Berg has written an
important play destined to challenge and stimulate creative practitioners
interested in exploring and sharing ideas of indigenous experience.
The Street Theatre’s foresight in providing Canberrans with
the opportunity to experience this first iteration is to be commended.
Images by Nathan Smith Photography
This review also published in AUSTRALIAN ARTS REVIEW. www.artsreview.com.au
