Sydney Reviews

Left – Anna Volska, Maggie Dence John Gaden, Peter Carroll and Barry Otto. Cover – Anna Volska. Photos – Brett Boardman

Seventeen is a play that deals with the awkward energy of youth as it twists and turns adolescents into adults. It follows 5 students after their last day at school. Behind them is 12 years of teachers, homework, classes and a familiarity. In front of them is the unknown. Even if they have a job to go to, an adventure to look forward to or just a plan for their tomorrows it is still such a big unknown. 

The script deals with the big issues that young people have dealt with from time immemorial; falling in love with your best friends girl and trying desperately to figure out who you are and who you want to be. The stories are predictable yet intrigue us still. From your own life, books, movies and the media we are reminded of what it was like to be on that brink of change. 

Matthew Whittet wrote Seventeen with the explicit idea of its main characters being played by actors over 70. It is the actors who are the joy of this production. All of the actors, bar one, are over 70 yet the seventeen year olds that they once were over half a century ago seem to still be a part of who they are today. At times you completely believe that the characters are seventeen. You get lost in their awkward teenage energy. Watching John Gaden as Mike dance to Taylor Swift's Shake It Off was my favourite part. It allowed me to believe he was seventeen. He jumped, arms high with the complete exuberance of youth and danced with such enthusiasm you would be hard pressed to believe that he was 70+.  Anna Volska plays Edwina, the serious girl who wants to do something stupid before she takes on the rest of her life and decides with a bit of help that vodka, tequila and beer are the answer. She plays her part beautifully, from the confident brains who will miss the library to the drunk teenager who seeks the cool of the base of the roundabout to alleviate her alcohol fuelled head spins. 

Genevieve Lemon plays Lizzy, Mike's little sister, who is generally ignored but who through observation seems to know more than they give her credit for. Lemon is the only younger actor and plays Lizzy as a girl who is teetering on a brink of her own. She is moving from being a child to becoming a teenager. She has all the immaturity of a little sister when compared to her older brother yet she acts with wisdom beyond her age when dealing with the emotional pain her brother is holding. All the actors seemed to revel in their characters and you can feel the fun of developing the script and the enjoyment of getting into character that must have preceded opening night. 

Robert Cousins set design was perfect. From the roundabout and swing which gave the set movement to the slide and climbing frame which seemed to capture the child that still lives inside every seventeen year old. The set captures the scene of parks across Australia and possibly the world where teenagers have spent evenings and whole nights drinking and dancing their joys and sorrows away. 

In the program there is a lovely section where a group of seventeen year olds were asked some questions about life. They are answered candidly some with and some without humour. Can you imagine life at 70? What might it be like? “It would be difficult and I could be dead,” answers one. It is a beautiful insight into what seventeen year olds are thinking about and it is nice to know that not too much has changed since I was seventeen.

Seventeen is a playful and entirely enjoyable production where age is no barrier for the actors or the audience.


Belvoir presents
Seventeen
by Matthew Whittet

Director Anne-Louise Sarks

Venue: Upstairs Theatre, Belvoir St Theatre | 25 Belvoir St, Surry Hills
Dates: 1 August – 13 September 2015
Tickets: Full from $72 | Concession $49
Bookings: 02 9699 3444 | belvoir.com.au