Written by David Williamson
directed by Celine Oudin. Mockingbird
Theatre,The Studio. Belconnen Arts Centre. Oct 7-17.
This is an intriguing
piece, set on a row of chairs facing the audience. There’s nothing else in the
way of a set, unusual for a David Williamson play, but it is enough.
Ten people have come
together for a mediation. Glen (Joshua Nicholls) is there because he rammed the
back of his boss’s Mercedes after he was sacked. It’s mediation or court.
Joshua Nicholls (Glen)
There’s no interval,
the action is taut and the emphasis is on unravelling what looks at first like
a simple event. Jack Manning (Sachin Nayak) is in gentle charge of this. As he
repeatedly reminds Glen, it is this or a trial and the traditional consequences.
Sachin Nayak (Jack Manning)
The story unrolls
slowly, under quiet questioning from Jack. How Glen (Joshua Nichols ) is
running his scaffolding firm comes under severe scrutiny. His wife Claire (
Victoria Tyrell Dixon) has things to say about their relationship. The women
who run the firm’s office, Julie (Chloe Smith) and Therese (Sophia Castello)
have other secrets.
Workers Barry (Zade
Fainstein), Luka (Ryan Hedley), and Richard (David Yates) reveal lots of
industrial shortcomings in the running of the workplace. Revelations and
attitudes come out into the open.
Even though he clearly
has his own problems, recognised by his very supportive mother Maureen (Anna
Hemmings) Glen’s sacking has had deeper reasons, linked to a careless workplace
culture.
There’s a beginning,
middle and end to the structure with a fair amount of turmoil in between the
row of empty chairs at the beginning and the same image at the end. The ideas
of the play lie in modern restorative practices and ancient restorative ones like
those of the Maori but it also owes a debt to pieces like Twelve Angry Men.
Director Celine Oudin
and a cast who individualise the characters strongly give a clear eyed
production of a play that should provoke thought about consequences and
justice.
Alanna Maclean
