“You Can’t Tell Anyone”, is a new Australian play for young
people, commissioned, produced and published by Canberra Youth Theatre as their
inaugural Emerging Playwright Commission.
The action takes place over one night in a single location,
someone’s parent’s house. Eight young people, all but one of whom have just
finished high school, are ready to party.
The hosts are two sisters who have recently lost their
psychologist father to suicide. Another young man’s mother has a terminal disease.
But this is a time for hope and celebration. Soon everything will change as
they head off to university and adulthood.
The opening scenes are peppered with current cultural
references but these characters could belong to any generation.
Joanna Richards describes her play as a philosophical thriller.
It reflects a time in life where young people are drawn to the mysteries of
philosophy, psychology and the occult as they begin to differentiate themselves
from their families and their peers.
Within the confines of a family loungeroom, lined with the
dead father’s books, fragility, betrayal and social cruelty abound. The text is
rich with quick and complex dialogue which is often has several conversations
running simultaneously across the eight characters.
Director, Caitlin Baker and her accomplished cast delivered
a tight a polished rendition of this play that has potential to become a
perennial favorite for student productions.
In this case the play was presented as 110-minute one act. The energy was high and momentum strong but it
was dense with dialogue. Movement, lighting and sound dynamics could have been
used to dwell for a few moments in transitions of mood and time. There was a
sense that the play needed space to breath.
Perhaps if staged over two acts and allowed to run slightly
longer, it may have been a more satisfying show.
Nonetheless this is a fine demonstration of Canberra’s Youth
Theatre’s commitment to developing young theatre artists and of its growing
contribution to our national youth theatre culture.
