Two by Jim Cartwright.
Directed
by Mark Kilmurray. Set and Costume Designer Alicia Clements. Associate Ester
Karuso =-Thurn. Lighting Designer Matthew Marshall. Sound designer Neil Mclean.
Costume supervisor. Alana Canceri. Stage manager. Olivia benson. Touring
production manager. Tim Burns. Ensemble Theatre. The Q. Queanbeyan Performing
Arts Centre. April 4 – 6 2019. Bookings. 62856290
Reviewed by Peter Wilkins
 |
| Brian Meegan and Kate Raison in TWO by Jim Cartwright |
I first came across Jim
Cartwright’s work when I read Road a
few years ago, and then again when I saw Chris Zuber’s excellent Dickson
College production at Theatre 3. It may have been too risqué or politically
biased for an in-school production. At one of Canberra’s colleges it was
shamefully censored because of its content and strong language.
But that is the power of
Cartwright’s writing. He is a keen and empathetic observer of his tribe. Road dealt with the hardships of working
class people living in Northern England under the burdensome conditions of
Margaret Thatcher’s Britain. It is raw, gritty and angry, relieved by ironic
humour and then delivered with the punch of injustice.
In 1989 Cartwright again examined
the lives of his countrymen and women in Two,
a two hander, set in a pub in Yorkshire. The characters are immediately
identifiable and audiences are struck by the universal struggles, fears and
humanity that Cartwright’s characters depict. The play is less angry, but the
tensions are real, if somewhat softened by Chekovian comedy. It is a reflection
of Cartwright’s empathy towards his characters, the authenticity of their
language and the lives they lead.
Mark Kilmurray’s touring production for
Ensemble Theatre is compact, simply staged and finely performed by Brian Meegan
and Kate Raison. Meegan and Raison play
the proprietors of the pub, set in this production somewhere in Northern New
South Wales, as well as various characters who enter the pub and play
out their stories. In the versatile hands of two experienced professional
performers, each character is a keenly observed thumbnail sketch of life beyond
the walls of the pub, their haven from the worries and woes of the world
outside.
At the centre of the drama is the
rising, prevalent tension that exists between the owners of the pub. The
opening, crackling overlapping dialogue as they take orders and converse with
the imaginary customers augurs an escape from direct communication. Meegan and
Raison play out the hidden conflict with breakneck pacing bound for eruption.
And it comes, at the close of the ninety minute play when the suppressed cause
is revealed and honesty finds resolution in catharsis. Kilmurray skilfully orchestrates
the rapid changes and shifts in mood with clear and purposeful intent.
Set and costume designer, Alicia
Clements with associate Ester Kruso-Thurn has designed a striking touring set
to fit any stage. The mirrored bar with it bottles lined along the top of the
mirror immediatelTWOy sets the scene, behind the carpeted area, with tables and
chairs. The glaring green leaf design of the carpet leaps out at you like a
Venus Flytrap and taste is devoured by the pattern. It is the ideal design for this concise and entertaining
drama.
Unfortunately the Q Theatre stage
is too expansive for the piece and the actors must work harder to break the
fourth wall and engage with the audience. They handle the space with aplomb,
remaining within the carpeted area and addressing their audience where
appropriate. At one pont, Meegan, as one of the characters in the pub, a sleazy
lecher, climbs into the auditorium, eyeballing young women with “Oh, you’re
beautiful” In the Me Too age, it is an uncomfortable moment, evoking laughter
at the character’s narcissistic belief in his own sexual prowess.
Billed as a comedy, Two is a study in humanity, its absurdity, its
struggles and its dreams and disappointments. It is the triumphant achievement
of Cartwright’s writing and Ensemble Theatre’s production.