By Jennifer Beasley.
The art of forgiveness resides in letting go of the past.
Trigger Warning: Mention of the Holocaust.
I’ll say it to get it out of the way – Berlin is a fantastic story. And it’s written by Joanne Murray-Smith, author of another incredible two-hander, Switzerland, currently being shot as a film with Helen Mirren. Now if that hasn’t gotten your attention, I’ll just give up right here. However, my gorgeous editor will be rather cross with me, and none of us want that.
This 80-minute production by Little Life Productions runs out of The Stables at The Meat Market in North Melbourne. A super cool building, whose fading, white-washed brickworks compliment the stage set up. A great configuration of L shaped seating is a testament to the skills of both the Stage Manager Annese Lingafelter and the Director Erica Chestnut, who makes great use of the small stage and the surrounding area. A brilliant set too, thanks to Leah Downey. It wasn’t overcrowded, and everything on stage was relatable to the unfolding story. Loved the artwork too.
To only have two actors for just shy of 90-minutes is a real credit to the actors, the writer and beautiful lighting by Jason Bovaird and the soporific music by Jarman Oakley, that lulls you into at times a state of ease, before introducing almost Hitchcockian intensity. I never once looked at my watch as this cracked along at a steady pace, with perfectly timed pauses to allow the audience to take a breath. Great job Erica Chestnut.
And believe me, there is tension aplenty. Two people meet in a bar at Berlin. German Charlotte played by an energetic, playful and cute Georgia Latchford (honey, you are the Aphrodite of this play), brings home Tom, played by Lachlan Hamill (who’s not bringing his best game here, hopefully it was only nerves on the night) an Australian visiting Berlin for a holiday. Or so he says. He does state early in the play why he’s there. You must be quick to spot it, and then the beauty of this layered play unpeels to reveal the core theme, which I have stated at the beginning of this review.
Joanne Murray-Smith knows how to weave humour into her plays, the lightness a welcomed counterpoint to the deepening tension, as the actors take us on a journey towards their own personal truth, and the discovery of intergenerational and global trauma, which echoes and spreads in a loop that relives pain and heartbreak without ever finding a resolution.
This trauma relates to the Holocaust, which is why this play is called Berlin. When writing a play you are often asked; Why now? Why this topic? Why this setting?
I think if you are going to investigate a topic like forgiveness, then starting with a big event isn’t such a bad thing.
Does love come into it? Lust, certainly, and all the scenes are tastefully handled and relevant to the play. Scenes move through quickly, and as the tension builds, the final explosive argument points to a love of humanity, more than a personal love.
Highly recommended, and a play that will stay with you as one delves into their own psyche to ask: who can I forgive?
Berlin is playing at The Stables @ The Meat Market at 7:30pm until 6th March 2025.
