Growing up is tough.Growing up with the knowledge that the freedom of your country rests in your hands, is even tougher.
Meet John Curtin.Not John Curtin, one of the greatest Australian prime ministers of all time.John
Curtin, the 10 year old asthmatic schoolboy from Kalbarri, a small
country town on the West Australian coastline, geographically opposite
from Brisbane.
John Curtin is played by Lucas Stibbard, and is the protagonist of The Danger Age, Kate Mulvany’s creation for the opening of La Boite Theatre Company’s 2008 season.This charming play is set in 1942, and uniquely blends historical action with fictional perspective.On his 10th birthday, John Curtin receives a phone call from the President of the United States of America.Mistaking
John for Prime Minister John Curtin, the President proceeds to detail a
plan of defense for Australia to the schoolboy – the Brisbane Line.A line will be drawn horizontally across Australia, starting at Brisbane and heading due West.Anything south of the line will be defended.Anything north of the line, will be sacrificed to the Japanese.Kalbarri sits right on the line.And John lives on the North side of town.
John is not alone in his quest to save his home and country.Interestingly, the other characters all have their own rights to defend, as well as those of their homes.His
best friend, Albert (played by Rhonda Purcell) is an Aboriginal girl
who is uneducated, under-privilidged and constantly facing the threat
of being taken away to a ‘Christian girls school’.John’s
single mother Maisie(Caroline Kennison) and her special friend Dr
Matsudaira(Lap Phan) deal with the prejudices of sex and racism on a
daily basis. These characters add multiple layers of
issues to the play, while John’s younger half-sister Glenys(Laurel
Collins), and her sock-puppet alter ego Trevor, provide much of the
comic relief.
The Danger Age is a well-structured play with many delightful moments.While
the first act was quaint, comical and reasonably light, the second half
delved into the consequences and the issues of the play, while still
retaining its humorous form.Its examination of hysteria
and its persuasion in society is exemplified in many ways, particularly
the war itself and its resulting effects of racism.Yet this is not an ‘issue-based’ play.The
Danger Age touches on issues, but does so in a way that charms and
moves its audience towards an idea, rather than alienating them and
forcing them to confront themselves.The Danger Age primarily is a story, and it is told beautifully.
The actors sweep the audience off their feet and into the world of 1942 Australian country life.The
simplicities of outback legends, naturally beautiful landscapes and
technological revolutions such as the telephone give The Danger Age its
quaint edge that makes the play so likeable.Apart from
Lucas Stibbard and Rhonda Purcell’s convincing
performances as children, the highlights are surely Caroline Kennison’sMaisie, who proves that mothers can be just as sexy as they are good at
parenting, and Laurel Collins, who truly creates Trevor the sock-puppet
as a separate character.Indeed one can hardly believe the creature is attached to her arm.
With
fine acting, a great story and a dramaturgically sound script, The
Danger Age is a fantastic new play from Australian playwright Kate
Mulvany.
La Boite Theatre Company presents
The Danger Age
by Kate Mulvany
Venue: Roundhouse Theatre | 6 - 8 Musk Avenue, Kelvin Grove Season: 28 February – 15 March Bookings:www.laboite.com.au or 07 3007 8600
This was a very interesting play: it portrayed many aspects of life in WWII that many young teenagers would not have known about. I saw this play on an excursion with my school's drama class, and it really helped us when working with the elements of drama :)
The Play was good at the start... then at the end it started to get a bit to cluttered to many topic's in one bit... i felt like there were 5 plays in 1...
The sock puppet joke was lame and overplayed. Glenys was a 180cm tall 8 year old with big shoulders. The play was okay. But it dragged out for too long.
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Growing up is tough.
