From the moment you walked into the Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre's [BMEC] City Hall, there was already a feeling of discomfort with an unusual stage setup and a masked audience.
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But as Kangaroo, the latest BMEC Local Stages play written by Miranda Gott and directed by Becky Russell, got under way, the discomfort soon felt like it was part of the show.
Kangaroo is a stark, alarming and, at times, darkly humourous dive into the knife-edge nature of life, death, trauma and suppressed memory, brought to life through the eyes of inner city-turned-country academic Barbara [Geraldine Brown], tormented young mother Melissa [Madelaine Osborn] and jovial, well-read sewage worker Mick [Duncan Wass].
What starts as a seemingly ordinary story soon evolves into a dark, menacing menagerie full of dying animals, youth abuse, city/country contrasts and the odd fine art lecture.
Not one actor can be singled out here: Brown perfectly presents Barbara as a 'fish out of water' city slicker deeply confronted by her country surrounds; Osborn's Melissa possesses the frantic, urgent energy of a mother [and child] acknowledging her unsafe environment; and Duncan's enigmatic Mick may add poetic beauty to people's waste, but his love of reading hides a terrible secret.
The sound, lighting and visuals flawlessly added to the feelings of discomfort; a purposeful masterstroke of Russell's direction, and the perfect union of Karl Shead, Benjamin Turner, Tim Roebuck and Henry Denyer-Simmons to produce a haunting production design.
But the real star is Gott, who's debut playwriting foray has produced an enthralling piece of theatre that warrants attention from wider audiences, though keep the kids at home.
Gott told the Western Advocate last week that she "hopes Kangaroo leaves audiences with a lasting feeling days later."
Well, she has certainly succeeded: an absolute masterpiece of local theatre.
4.5 out of 5 stars.
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Sam Bolt
"I'm not in the business of telling people what to do. I'm much more in the business of describing things, situations and stuff like that and leaving them out there, and you can make up your minds about them." -Nick Cave
"I'm not in the business of telling people what to do. I'm much more in the business of describing things, situations and stuff like that and leaving them out there, and you can make up your minds about them." -Nick Cave
