Left - Mark Kilmurry and Patrick Williams. Photos - Steve LunamCormac McCarthy’s The Sunset Limited is the kind of play that, when done well, presents a genre of naturalistic theatre at its most basic, essential form. Featuring two actors on an unchanging set performing a single, unbroken intense encounter in realtime, it is something of an acting marathon, even at only an hour and half’s running time.
For the most part, this production lives up to the challenge. The story – or rather, the premise, since the play does not depict any events beyond this single, ongoing discussion – concerns two unnamed men who have been brought together by unexpected circumstance. Referred to in the script only as “Black” and “White” in reference to their ethnicity, the white man is from an affluent background and highly educated, apparently an academic, while the other is poor with a history of hardship and incarceration.
The event which brought them together, as we soon learn, is that earlier the same morning Black rescued White from throwing himself in front of the titular subway train in a suicide attempt, and the former has brought the latter back to his rundown apartment, in an attempt to help him overcome his problems. Unfortunately, they have a total clash of not only personalities, but virtually everything else as well: class, race, education, life experience, philosophy and, most pertinently, religion… or lack thereof.
It would be an oversimplification to describe this as a play about religion, but in truth it is one of the most consistently revisited topics, given that the upbeat Black is a fervent man of faith while White is an atheist whose mounting sense of nihilism has driven him to the edge. What follows is a conversation in which Black attempts to get to the root of White’s existential despair and try to get him to embrace a more positive outlook on life, if not necessarily Jesus in particular.
White is agitated and eager to leave, wary of being given a sermon and reticent to explain his actions, as well as uncomfortable in the “terrible” surroundings of this junkie-infested apartment block. Black, however, is keen to make him stay and uses various tactics and inducements over the course of their conversation to dissuade him from leaving. In part this is because he fears that, left to his own devices, the professor will simply resume his suicidal behaviour, and feels some duty of care. Furthermore, due to his faith and personal outlook, Black is increasingly determined to understand White and what has driven him to this and, to a much lesser extent, the reverse gradually starts to manifest as well, with White developing some curiosity about his insistent would-be saviour.
What eventuates is a sprawling, multi-faceted debate over the nature of faith and the value of living between two people in a state of perpetual impasse. If that sounds heavy-going… well, it is, but that’s not a bad thing. For those looking for a night of light comedy or witty repartee, this is not going to be the play to see, but its heady content is at the very least leavened by a lot of character humour, particularly through the clash of worldviews and personal style between the overwrought, private professor and the gregarious, down-home man of God. Furthermore, the irresolution of the piece provides no easy answers to all that has been discussed, leaving the audience to make of it what they will.
Needless to say, a play like this sinks or sails on the ability of the two actors to give gripping performances since when all is said and done it is essentially two talking heads sitting at a kitchen table for its whole duration. Fortunately, Mark Kilmurry as White and Patrick Williams as Black do, by and large, deliver. Although early in the piece the rapid-fire dialogue seemed at times a little too slick, in certain moments a bit overly rapid for such a considered intellectual debate without any pauses for contemplating ones response, but this is a minor quibble. Similarly, Kilmurry’s accent slips around rather a lot, especially when becoming impassioned, but it is a small price to pay for such a nuanced and committed performance, especially his blistering final tirade. Williams’ accent work is spot-on, although the veracity of acting is a little more uneven, but he too more than rises to the occasion for his character’s big moments, and indeed, as the more loquacious and interrogative of the pair, Williams carries the larger weight of the dialogue.
The Sunset Limited is not light entertainment by any means, but is a thought-provoking and engrossing study of two characters attempting to bridge the gap between irreconcilable worldviews, something which is far more intriguing and challenging a notion to explore than what is presented in more standard fare that usually follows a single, “correct” viewpoint. Powerful, direct theatre for those who enjoy a rousing debate.
Ensemble Theatre presents
The Sunset Limited
by Cormac McCarthy
Director Jennifer Don
Venue: Ensemble Theatre | 78 McDougall Street Kirribilli
Dates: 28 October - 12 December 2009
Tickets: $39 - $63
Bookings: 02 9929 0644 | www.ensemble.com.au
