Though I currently reside there, I don't exactly equate Sydney's lower, let alone upper north shore, with edgy, impassioned, visceral theatre. Yet, to my pleasant and world-weary surprise, nay, delight, I found it, last evening at Chatswood's undersung Zenith Theatre which, incidentally, is one of this city's most comfortable and functional, which goes a good way to compensating for its lack of personality.Epicentre Theate Company (etc) is to be congratulated and lauded for having the temerity to take on such an ambitious project, to say nothing of pulling it off so, so competently!
Moises Kaufman & members of New York's Tectonic Theater Project went to Laramie, Wyoming, a mere 5 weeks after the murder of Matthew Shepard. Based on more than 200 interviews they conducted, The Laramie Project follows, in literal and linear fashion, Shepard's visit to a local bar, his kidnap, horrendous beating, the discovery of him tied to a fence, hospital vigil, death, funeral and the trial of his killers.
That's putting it glibly and coldly. And, in a way, Kaufman seems to have deliberately sought that, in deference to objectivity. That, of course, comes from the re-enactment of many, many subjective testimonies, from Laramie locals; some yokels, some gay, some latent.
There are so many characters (any resemblance to persons living or dead is probably bloody accurate, a chilling prospect in too many cases) and so many actors, it would be unfair and impractical to single out star performances, especially so as, save for one or two lapses of accents (admittedly, distracting and tending to come from the same actors), this whole production is a star.
Those that know my reviews will probably attest, too, that it's not often that I muster this level of enthusiasm, so, it's saying something.
From tip-to-toe, set to lighting, direction to performances, barely a beat was missed, to the point where I can't imagine the original being appreciably better, if at all, than this. It's one of the most-performed plays in America and has been made into a multiple Emmy-nominated Sundance opener, featuring Peter Fonda, Laura Linney, Steve Buscemi and Christina Ricci. The triumph of this production is to make me hunger to see that other work and know more about the Shepard case and its outcomes, or lack thereof, in terms of hate crime and anti-discrimination legislation. It's an awareness-raising, challenging piece that, since it's 'evidence-based', suffers none of the teachy-preachy flaws of so many other do-good plays, including several close to home.
And, it's a complicated play! Apart from turning on a variety of regional North American accents, actors have many marks and positions to observe and, as practically all are on stage at all times, costume changes must be discreetly effected there. Some, moreover, must change characters sequentially: three distinct roles, back-to-back, sometimes. It'd be a challenge for Hugo Weaving (who was there), let alone relative unknowns. Not that I'm equating fame with ability, necessarily, but you take my meaning, I'm sure.
I'm keen to know how long this production was in rehearsal. I can't conceive of it taking less than 6 solid months to get it happening. I'm sure it didn't, since no major commercial company, let alone independent one, could afford that luxury. The point is, if it took a year, I'd believe it, because the results are so substantial. With a simple set, audiovisual segments, evocative projected backdrops, very spare and, therefore, effective employment of music, beautiful 'slomo' background sequences, choreographic alignments of actors, 'freezeframes', minimal costume changes, near-perfect lighting changes and, above all, with the focus on extracting the very most from his very considerable actors, director, Pat Sherwood, and producers, Suzanne Millar & John Harrison, have pulled a real, live rabbit out of a very small hat.
I can't really separate the conviction Jarrod Crellin, Maddy Gasparinatos, Kieran Foster, Suzanne Millar, Matt Cook, Dino Dimitriadis, Katherine Shearer, Wren Bowie, Ash Morgan, Tim Warden, Justin J Moses, Nick Hunter or Joe Beal brought to their 57 characters; except, perhaps, to note that Crellin's Baptist minister was a special treat. But by no means the only one.
If you want to know how good theatre can actually get in the dead heart of the northern suburbs, mid-week, or anywhere, at any time, by almost anyone, git y'self on down t' Laramie.
Epicentre Theatre Company Presents
The Laramie Project
By Moises Kaufman & the Tectonic Theater Project
Directed by Pat Sherwood
Venue: Zenith Theatre Chatswood
Dates: 28 February to 14 March 2009
Evening Performances: February 28, March 4, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14 (8pm)
Matinees: March 7 (2pm) & March 8 (5pm)
Bookings: 9975 6780 | www.epicentretheatre.org.au
