By Sarah Skubala
Love Lies Bleeding, Ad Astra’s final offering for 2024, is a play about assisted death from the pen of Don DeLillo, an American novelist made famous by books such as White Noise, winner of the National Book Award and now a Netflix film directed by Noah Baumbach. It’s been 15 years since the play premiered in Australia with Sydney Theatre Company, and while the subject matter may be grim, director Michael Futcher has done a fine job with it, helped along by some great performances from the cast.
The action is set in the desert lodgings of Alex, a once successful artist, played in the flashback scenes by John Stibbard. A series of strokes have left him in a ‘persistent vegetative state’ and unable to communicate (played in present-day scenes by Gregory Gesch). He is cared for by wife number four, the much younger Lia (Carla Haynes). Into the desert arrives Toinette, wife number two (Helen Howard), and Sean, Alex’s son from his first marriage (Spencer Cliff), armed with a sordid plan to put Alex out of his misery. Sean has a bottle of expired morphine, a questionable syringe and a folder of how-to instructions downloaded from the internet. But Lia is far from happy about their intentions: she is adamant that Alex should be allowed to die on his terms, not theirs. Who will prevail?
With scenes that moved between the past, present, and near future, DeLillo’s script deepened the emotional impact of Alex’s situation by hinting at unrealised potential and a vision that was yet to be achieved. The chemistry that drew Alex and Toinette together was revealed, along with Sean’s disdain for his father and shared love of desert plants. The term ‘love lies bleeding’ is the name of an annual plant, but it also encapsulates the tension between the beauty of love and the pain that can accompany it.
Gregory Gesch delivered an outstanding performance as the ‘not yet, but no longer’ version of Alex. It was fascinating to watch his subtle shifts in cognition; his eyes looked almost hopeful in response to conversations about ending his suffering. His commitment to near-total stillness across the two hours was truly impressive.
Helen Howard and Spencer Cliff had great banter as ex-stepmother and son, their scenes providing some of the play’s much-needed comic moments. Howard’s character transformation across Act Two was excellent, while Cliff had some fantastically witty lines that truly encapsulated the bitter son. Carla Haynes and John Stibbard had some poignant scenes, and together, they bookended the play’s action.
The set, designed by Ada Lukin, cleverly evoked a desert ranch with weathered wooden beams creating a fence-like structure around the stage, complete with piles of sand. The charred tips of the wooden beams felt symbolic of a life that once was now left in limbo.
Love Lies Bleeding will resonate differently with everyone, depending on their lived experiences and values. It will certainly spark conversations post-performance around end-of-life care, an often avoided but ultimately necessary topic.
Love Lies Bleeding plays until November 23rd at Ad Astra Theatre.
Image:: Barbara Lowing
