“Triptych – A Trilogy
Of Works”
“Bona Mors” written by Olivia Hewson and directed by Jessica
Alexander,
“Fight Or Flight” written by Jessica Bellamy and directed by Remy
Graham-Throssell, “Run Rihanna! Run!” written by Lachlan Philpott and
directed by Karla Conway,
Canberra Youth Theatre
Gorman House C Block Theatre,
1 November to 9 November, 2013
Reviewed by Len Power 1 November 2013
An
evening of three one act plays is a rarity these days. Canberra Youth Theatre’s “Triptych” considers
the themes of expectation, pressure, success and fears that come along with the
transition periods in young people’s lives.
None
of the plays take a straight forward approach.
The first, “Bona Mors”, performed by pre-teen actors, is a surreal black
comedy focussing on the fear of death and the loss of a brother. The second play, “Fight Or Flight” shows the
interaction of a group of young teens struggling to come to terms with a
devastating event that might mean the end of civilization and “Run Rihanna! Run!”
shows the pressures on two young men driving a truck away from a coastline
slowly disappearing under water.
The
first play worked best and the quite young cast displayed a surprisingly good understanding
of the surreal aspects of the script.
The second play lacked pace, energy and voice projection from the cast
and, having made its point early, overstayed its welcome. The third play started with a nicely edgy
idea and was well-acted but had an unsatisfyingly abrupt ending.
There
were three substantial sets by Cate Clelland that worked fine for each play,
but necessitated herding the audience out of the theatre for nearly 30 minutes
between plays so the set changes could be made.
It
was good to see three casts of different age groups tackling these quite unusual
plays, but maybe youth theatre could work on less depressing and bleak subject
matter sometimes.
Originally published in Canberra City News digital edition 2 November 2013