HIGHWAY OF LOST HEARTS

Written by Mary Anne Butler

Original Live Music by Smith & Jones

Directed by Adam Deusien

A Lingua Franca in association with Arts On Tour presentation

Q Theatre, Queanbeyan to 7 June

 

Reviewed by Len Power 6 June 2024

 

Simply staged to evoke the atmosphere of regional Australia, this play about a woman’s drive through the heart of the country and the people she meets along the way, is a complex exploration of love and loss, joy and sadness.

The woman, Mot, travels with her dog as a much-loved companion. On the outside, Mot seems gutsy, strong and determined, but underneath the rough language and her fearless inaction with people, there’s a vulnerability that we connect with and warm to.

Written by award-winning playwright, Mary Anne Butler, and performed by Kate Smith as Mot, this is an in-depth character study of a woman searching for her place of happiness in this world. Smith shows every facet of this woman in a finely balanced and truthful performance. Butler’s words are both poetic and down-to-earth.

Kate Smith as Mot (photo by Phil Blatch)

Adding greatly to the atmosphere is the music written by and performed by Smith & Jones that accompanies and comments on the action. Their music and lyrics give an emotional truth to this woman’s story as well as evoking the sounds and sense of the country.

Smith & Jones (photo by Hannah Grogan)

Director, Adam Deusien, keeps the action simple and focussed, allowing the woman’s emotional journey to set the pace. The clever set design by Annemarie Dalziel has simple elements that create an atmospheric picture of the places this woman is travelling through.

Kate Smith (seated, foreground) and Smith & Jones (photo by Hannah Grogan)

It is a unique production, performed and sung with skill. This woman’s journey through country and life is readily identified with and is quite memorable.

 

Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and ‘Arts About’ programs and published in his blog 'Just Power Writing' at https://justpowerwriting.blogspot.com/.