On reading about the
development process of Moving Target, youwonder if the finished play will be as intriguing and suspenseful as the
Sydney Opera House website suggests. Director Benedict Andrews and writer
Marcus Von Mayenburg met for a week to create a new work. By the end of the
week, they had what Andrews describes as a “beautiful, dense, chaotic collage.”
A group of actors then began improvised rehearsals based on ideas in the
collage. The script was written after the first period of rehearsals.
The first half of the play is like the
development process itself, chaos. Props are thrown, stacked, folded and
unfolded. The play threatens to became one hide and seek game after another and
you wonder how much of this you can take.
Thankfully, things pick up in the second half of the play. The
story is best described as a post 9/11 take on the Midwich Cookoos. The actors
play parents who are constantly on the look out for signs their children have
joined terrorist cells and will turn violent on them. One child is seen to put
a green parcel in a bin. Debate rages about whether to talk to it, or call in a
security team.
These people are hiders and do nothing. In the growing
climate of fear, they continue to play their childish games as a way of
comforting themselves. Their games of hide and seek become increasingly chaotic
as they realise that their inactions will have consequences too.
The set is a box
with white walls and floor. This gives a clinical look and a chilling feel to
the play. The play’s climax is genuinely suspenseful, with actors sealing off the front of the stage with masking
tape.
The play is
physically demanding on the six actors with much lifting of props. The three
men give strong performances. Matthew Whittet and Hamish Michael prove
particularly versatile.The women can
sometimes appear unnecessarily dopey and therefore annoying.
The play achieves a
good lever of coherence and suspense despite its chaotic development process. It
is very successful in using this community of fear as a microcosm to comment on
the current age of terror. While there are some tedious moments, this unique
play is worth a look.
MOVING TARGET
Venue: The Studio | Sydney Opera House Dates/Times: 2 – 5 & 9 – 12 April @ 8.15pm, 8 April @ 6.30pm, 13 April @ 8.15pm, 6 & 13 April @ 5pm Tickets: From $20 to $49 or $20 to $39 concession Bookings: 9250 7777 or www.sydneyoperahouse.com/thestudio
Otello | Opera Australia
Shakespeare’s Othello – the classic tragedy of deceit, revenge, love, and jealousy... in essence, all the makings for the spectacle and drama that is opera.
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On reading about the
development process of Moving Target, you
