Written by Edward Albee
Directed by Tanya
Gruber
Something Borrowed Theatre
Smith’s Alternative, July 18 - 20, 2013
Review by Len Power 18 July 2013
‘We should talk.’
That ominous opening line of Edward Albee’s play, ‘At Home At The Zoo’, sets
the scene for a mild-mannered young husband’s two very unsettling
conversations, first with his wife at home and then a short time later with a
strange fellow he meets while reading on a park bench. The play is a disturbing study of alienation,
loneliness and miscommunication with flashes of black humour here and there.
Fifty years on, Edward Albee added a first act to his 1958
one-act play, ‘Zoo Story’. The new act gives
an added depth to the themes running through the play. This is Canberra’s new Something Borrowed Theatre’s
first production at Smith’s Alternative Bookshop, an intimate space which
worked well for this small-cast play.
John Lombard, who plays the central character of the
husband, gives a believably understated, controlled and ultimately very moving performance. Kate Blackhurst, as his wife, strongly plays
every facet of a woman who says one thing but means another and Graham August
is outstanding in his portrayal of an initially quirky young man with an
increasingly dark underside. The actors’
sense of timing and their non-verbal interactions with each other are
especially notable.
Director, Tanya Gruber, has provided her cast with very well-paced
direction and wisely keeps movement on the small stage by the characters to a
bare minimum. However, the decision not
to use American accents was questionable given the strongly American
sensibility of the characters.
Nevertheless, this is an electrifying and very satisfying production.
Originally published in Canberra City News digital edition 19 July 2013
