Reviewed by Frank McKone
June 13
Creatives
Directed by Cate Clelland
Set Design: Cate Clelland
Costume Design: Clare Middleton, Darcy Abrahams, Cate Clelland
Lighting Design: Craig Muller; Sound Design: Nev Pye
Properties: Brenton Warren
Cast
Frances – Danielle Spiller; Frank – Pat Gallagher
Sophie – Margeaux Arundel-Williams; Helen – Matilda Millar-Carton
Joan – Stephanie van Lieshout; Freddy Wicks – Steven Kennedy
Saul Morgenstein – Adrian Breen
Wedding Celebrant – Kumar Kartikey Gupta
Gallery Attendant – Grace Cassidy
Though, from my past experience in companies similar to REP, I fully appreciate the effort that has gone into this presentation of Travelling North, with its thirty-three very short scenes.
Because Cate Clelland has chosen to darken the stage and move often large pieces of furniture on and off between almost all scenes, nearly half of our time in the audience is taken up in scene changes.
Though this may seem a cheap joke, half-way through Act I the word “pedestrian” came to mind – referring to all the walking on and off; and meaning the effect as a theatrical experience, as opposed to, say, “engaging”.
I therefore cannot recommend REP’s production of Travelling North.
On the other hand, I did review the touring production done by Christine Harris and HIT Productions, presented in Canberra at the Tuggeranong Arts Centre in 2008.
I wrote then that Bruce Myles’ “direction suits this small-scale venue, bringing out qualities of character and personal relationships more successfully than I remember from early productions on larger stages where Williamson's one-liners were funny but less engaging.”
How did he do it? Canberra REP’s stage is not exactly large, and could have used a design like this:
For the 2008 national touring production of David Williamson’s Travelling North—produced by HIT Productions and directed by Bruce Myles—the creative team faced a unique challenge. The play’s "filmic" structure demands rapid movement across dozens of short scenes. Furthermore, as a 14-week national tour, the set had to be physically adaptable enough to pack down and fit into 33 different metropolitan, regional, and remote venues across Australia.
To solve this, set designer Shaun Gurton and lighting designer Glenn Hughes devised a highly functional, smart, and minimalist staging environment, The Set Design Minimalist Framework:
Shaun Gurton opted for an elegant, understated, and functional design. Rather than trying to construct multiple realistic rooms, the stage relied on clean lines and abstract spacing.
Portable Architecture: Because it was built for rigorous regional touring, the physical structures were lightweight and easily transportable. The design used simple multi-purpose spatial markers (like steps, platforms, or sparse furniture) that could easily adjust to fit varying stage sizes across Australia.
Thematic Focus: By stripping away heavy clutter, the design purposefully shifted the entire audience focus onto the spiky dialogue and personal interactions [and] avoided heavy, traditional physical set tracking or long curtain pauses. Scenes dissolved into one another with actors carrying small props or altering their positioning smoothly.(My emphasis).
The action of the play is mostly limited to three locations [with] Frank and Frances' holiday getaway positioned at stage right.
The result for HIT in 2008 was, in my review: “The audience's sustained applause on opening night expressed our appreciation not only for the skills of the director and actors but, I think, for a production which brought the best out of Williamson. Very satisfying.”
I honestly could not write the same conclusion about the performance I saw on Saturday.
