WHEN THE RAIN STOPS FALLING

 

When the Rain Stops Falling by Andrew Bovell. 

Directed by Chris Baldock. Assisted by Zac Bridgman. Stage manager Rhiley Winnett. Properties Natalie Trafford and Chris Baldock. Set design and realization Chris Baldock. Projection Realization Rhiley Winnett. Sound design Chris Baldock and Rhiley Winnett. Lighting, sound and projection operation Rhiley Winnett. Costumes The cast and Chris Baldock.  Mockingbird Theatre Company. Belco Arts Belconnen Arts Centre. May 8-17  2025 Bookings:  belcoarts.ticketsales.com

Reviewed by Peter Wilkins

  

Dyllan Ormazabal (Andrew Price) and 
Chris Baldock as Gabriel York

Mockingbird Theatre Company’s production of Andrew Bovell’s When The Rain Stops Falling continues to present Canberra audiences with works that capture the imagination and stimulate the intellect. Playwright Bovell is a master of the dramatic construct. In telling the story of four generations of the Law family, Bovell weaves a tapestry of ingenious storytelling that leads audiences through a labyrinth of family secrets, scandalous conduct, fateful relationships and the desperate search for elusive answers to one’s identity.

Leonidas Katsanis (Gabriel Law) Liz St Clair Long (the older Elizabeth Law)

Director Chris Baldock contains the epic scope of familial legacy, abandonment, tragedy and human struggle within the intimate confines of Mockingbird’s in the round setting. The play opens under a canopy of plastic umbrellas. The cast wander through the space to escape the rain leaving Gabriel York  (Chris Baldock) alone on stage and ruminating on the symbolism of a fish falling from the sky, and awaiting the arrival of his son Andrew (Dyllan Ormazabal). He is coming to learn his heritage, a legacy lost in the shadows of the past.

Bovell’s narrative transcends and interpolates time navigating the lives of 60 year old matriarch Elizabeth Law (Liz St Clair Long), her son Gabriel Law (Leonidis Katsanis),his father Henry Law (Zac Bridgman), the younger Elizabeth (Ruth Hudson), Gabriel’s girlfriend Gabrielle York (Jayde Dowhy), the older Gabrielle York (Jess Beange) and older Gabrielle’s husband Joe Ryan (Bruce Hardie). Bovell gradually unfolds the chapters of the Law story, revealing a dysfunctional family history, unable to communicate, torn apart by human failing, victims of fate’s tragic events and yet ultimately arriving at redemption and hope in a final scene of reconciliation of the past over a fish soup meal around the dining table. In Baldock’s production it is a moment that resounds with the victory of hope over adversity.

Jayde Dowhy (younger Gabrielle York) Jess Beange (older Gabrielle)

Bovell challenges his audience. His web of mystery beguiles and intrigues. He demands curiosity from his audience and from the production team of When The Rain Stops Falling. Each scene promises revelation, a piece of the jigsaw puzzle that illuminates the mystery but only provides the final answers to the puzzle when Gabriel York unpacks the contents of a suitcase and presents them to his son at the end of the play. 

Director Baldock and his strong ensemble cast rise to the challenge. We are compelled to care for each character, for their desires and for their failings.  Mockingbird’s carefully staged and engrossing production will cast a veil of reflection that will haunt you long after you leave the theatre. Ultimately we are confronted by the same question; “Who am I?” We are all a thread in Bovell’s tapestry of human experience. When The Rain Stops Falling rightfully earns a place in the treasure trove of classic Australian plays. Mockingbird Theatre Company’s reverent production does the play justice. Don’t miss it.

Zac Bridgman as Henry Law






Jess Beange as the older Gabrielle York
Bruce Hardie as Joe Ryan

Photos by Chris Baldock