Sydney Reviews

Left - Colin Moody and Georgia Bowrey. Cover - Belinda McClory and Colin Moody. Photos - Emma Furno

A couple in crisis. A child reciting twisted limericks. A manic nurse. A grand piano. Blood. All the signs are there: you’re taking a journey to the dark side of suburbia in the Sydney Theatre Company’s new production, The City.

Written by celebrated playwright Martin Crimp, at first glance it’s merely a snapshot of a couple, Chris and Clair, who are falling apart. A pissed-off neighbour calls in to tell them to keep their children under control. Their daughter plays the piano and asks too many questions. So far, so normal. However, there’s a growing sense of desperation to them all, and before too long some rather surreal cracks start to appear.

Crimp’s writing is densely-packed, the words flying thick and fast, it’s sometimes hard to keep up. Each scene demands your attention, and you almost wish you could press “pause” and have a moment to digest what’s just gone on. Such material requires a strong director, and Benedict Andrews is the man for the job, and using Ralph Myers’ sparse set, gives ample room to enjoy the pure pleasure of the words and the performances without being indulgent.

We’re told at one point “The people clinging to life are the most dangerous of them all”. At times it’s hard to know who to fear most in this edgy ensemble. Belinda McClory is brilliant as Clair. She’s so tightly wound you’re just waiting for her to explode. (She makes the permanently-clenched Bree from TV's Desperate Housewives look like a blissed-out stoner). It’s a razor sharp performance. Colin Moody as Chris is no less impressive. He brings to the stage the turmoil of a man caught up in the agonizing tedium of the corporate world and the responsibilities of being the man of the house. His strutting and fretting reveal a world of pain. Anita Hegh’s slightly manic neighbour Jenny is a welcome respite from this domestic devastation, but she comes equipped with her own dangerous side and Hegh knows just how to make her an unsettling presence. Georgia Bowery (alternating with Gigi Perry) is a delight as the young daughter caught in the middle of this maelstrom. Her role is far from set-dressing, she contributes to the general unease of the piece commendably.

The set is simple – all the action takes place on a series of levels resembling an over-sized, descending staircase. It emphasises the characters continual struggles for status, but just watching the performers manoeuvre their way up and down is a bit of a distraction, and while this is obviously intentional, the massive structure is a little dominating of the space.

The City represents many things – the inane world we live in and the profound world that lies within us, and the ways we try to make these worlds meet, endeavours that are both beautiful and unbearable. By the end, you’re left not knowing what is real and what’s not, and what exactly you’ve just been witness to. You are well aware that you are the audience and you are watching a performance (it’s a little stagey, the dialogue a tad too theatrical and self-conscious), it’s something that’s been constructed for your pleasure, to disturb you, to puzzle at and work out what it means for you. Such is life.


Sydney Theatre Company presents
The City
by Martin Crimp

Director Benedict Andrews

Venue: The Wharf
Dates: 3 July - 9 August 2009
Times: Tuesdays – Saturdays @ 8.15pm
Matinees: Wednesdays @ 1.15pm & Saturdays @ 2.15pm
Bookings: sydneytheatre.com.au