By Adam Rafferty
Another show at the Melbourne Theatre Company and another Pulitzer Prize winner graces the stage, this time around the 2002 honouree by Suzan-Lori Parks, Topdog/Underdog, a visceral two-hander about two African American brothers scraping together life in a world that constantly pits circumstances against them. With names that evoke the president that abolished slavery and his assassin, the contemporary setting demonstrates how little poverty, racism and opportunity have changed in the US since the Emancipation Proclamation.
Older brother Lincoln (Damon Manns) is temporarily bunking on the recliner chair in the scuzzy one-bedroom apartment rented by his younger brother Booth (Ras-Samuel) but is the only one currently with a job – as a white-face Abraham Lincoln impersonator at an arcade. It’s an inglorious way to make a living, but at least it’s an honest one, compared to his past hustling the con game Three-Card Monte on the street. However, Booth, who’s more accustomed to shoplifting, is enamoured by the idea of running the game himself, constantly practicing the routine at home.
Lincoln has been kicked out by his wife, while Booth is busy trying to impress a woman with dinners and gifts he’s lifted. Manns’ Lincoln broods with the energy of a man trying to do the ‘right thing’ while having a dark past behind him. The Three-Card Monte con involves using a shill to trick the ‘mark’ into thinking it’s possible to win the game, and for these boys, ‘winning’ in the game of life might be the biggest trick of all.
Lincoln left hustling behind when one of his crew was shot dead, fearing he may be next, but that dark chapter doesn’t dissuade Booth from glorifying his brother’s past exploits. Ras-Samuel’s muscular, physical performance as Booth portrays a young man not yet beaten by the world, more full of enthusiasm and potential than he has the wisdom to channel it effectively.
The flexible black box space of the Southbank Theatre’s Lawler Studio allows for seating to be wrapped around Sophie Woodward’s simple, yet perfect, stage design in a horseshoe format that brings the audience into thrilling close quarters with the actors on stage. Thanks to first-time director (but long-time star of the MTC), Bert Labonté, performances play with excellent balance to all sides of the stage, so no seating position feels at a disadvantage.
Both actors are completely endearing in their roles. Labonté has imbued his players with the same generosity that is almost a trademark of his performances. The warmth and connection between Manns and Ras-Samuel provides a charming rapport that means you really care about what happens to this pair. But one can’t help but wonder if the tension between the two characters should be more palpable, so the sense of jeopardy in the plot is greater. For while there is a tragic inevitability to the storyline that is plainly evident, a greater sense of risk in the delivery might provide a greater sense of loss.
Rachel Lee’s atmospheric lighting design is superb and Dan West’s sound design, including a brilliant soundtrack of R&B classics brings a definite and specific feeling of place and culture.
This production has some thrilling moments, and it sings when it comes to the darkly comic elements of the script and the sparky energy generated by the playing of the Three-Card game, but ultimately the friendly fraternal tone achieved on stage doesn’t allow for enough tautness and anxiety to be achieved when the boys gamble against each other at the story’s end.
This well-produced and well-intentioned production could be a thriller if it truly goes for the jugular.
Image: Sarah Walker
