By Jennifer Beasley.
5 extraordinary stories that explores the lives of a diverse range of people.
About 20 minutes after Lyceum Highway, I was invited to attend 5 monologues that were written by members of the Melbourne Writers Theatre.
Again, produced by the fabulous Clare Mendes, these offerings came in 5 bite sized monologues at 10 minutes each, and were well directed Jennifer Munday.
The first, The Night Market, swept me up in a whirlwind of colour and sound, transporting me to the sultry night markets of Egypt in 1985, as I was transported by the vivid language into an orange hued setting. Particularity the second part of the monologue, played with passion by Mark Opitz, I became the young man whose latent homosexuality is awoken in a torrid affair amongst the opium dens of Cario. Beautiful, pulsating and achingly tender, Writer Gary Helmore is a powerful voice, understanding the use of specificity in his writing.
Equally immersive was The Most Alive Part Of Me, a foray into the narrative of an Army veteran suffering PTSD. A different use of descriptive language here, an in what was the most touching example of a show, not tell, when the veteran used his arms to show the negative space where his wife use to sit between his embrace. I felt my throat close up as emotion welled inside me, and the playwright Peter Farrar wisely kept the character in check by scraping the deeper emotions but restraining the intensity as actor Amir Rahimzadeh works through guilt, shock, despair and anxiety, his facial mobility remarkable in such a short piece.
Off The Grid, written by Maree Collie and performed by Katrina Mathers, had a creepy and foreboding element. The second part of this really leaned into this element, with strange lights and sounds heightening the tension, and the phone ringing in an empty room added to the suspense and fear. I felt the first part rambled too much, and a revisitation of this piece to enhance the dramatic elements would be of benefit.
A monologue, Snakes and Ladders, narrating the unsung endeavours of a carer was performed to perfection by Janine McGrath. Donna de Palma writes a play that subtly underscores the unacknowledged pain and loneliness of a woman whose husband suffers cancer, her heartbreaking isolation as she accounts the miles her recovering husband, Lee, has ridden on his bike, a testament to her growing distance as he has ‘ridden a quarter of the way to the moon.’ If anything, I would have loved to have had maybe another line or too to allow the audience to feel this pain she suffers even more. This is one play that deserves to be extended into a one act play, as too often carer’s feelings, and the burden they shoulder, is never seen or felt.
The final monologue, ‘Til Death Do Us Part, was hilarious. I spotted early on the reveal (but then I would as a reviewer!) but it was brilliantly written by Louise Hopewell and performed by Nick Steain. These two are the perfect match, and I hope that they collaborate in the future, as Steain’s delivery was spot on, and the performance seamless. Well written and slow reveal, where the structure was strongly delineated with beginning, middle and end. Great job Hopewell.
Such great talent all five writers and performers. John Jenkins for sound and lighting was spot on as was the costumes. There are five other monologues that will be presented on the 15th.
Image:Anna Moloney-Heath
