A Little Piece of Ash - JackRabbit Theatre

Post

Subscribe

Wed 17 Apr 2019 - Fri 26 Apr 2019

A Little Piece of Ash is the debut play from actor Megan Wilding, playing at KXT as part of the HiJacked Rabbit takeover. This exceptional new work examines what it means to be a young indigenous woman in Australia dealing with loss and grief with the multi-talented Wilding also acting in and directing the piece.



A Little Piece of Ash is the story of Jedda, a first year uni student, dealing with the loss of her mother. It weaves in traditional indigenous practices, such as smoke ceremony, and entwines native language throughout the play in a beautiful way. A Little Piece of Ash demonstrates that people deal with grief in many different ways - all of them valid and human.



Megan Wilding's writing demonstrates skills that belie a debut playwright. Her use of language is effective, her storytelling is heartfelt and it utterly deserved the standing ovation it received on the night I attended. Her direction is likewise clever and thoughtful, the play never feels laboured, even in the longer scenes.

Wilding's performance as the dead matriarch, Lily, is captivating and genuine. Her presence, perched at her table watching her daughter deal with her grief, is calming, safe and sparkles with Wilding's trademark wit and cheekiness. As her daughter, Jedda, Stephanie Somerville's performance is strongest as the play draws to a close and she allows herself to feel the sense of loss.



Supporting this story of mother and daughter as various characters are Alex Malone, Toby Blome, Moreblessing Maturure and Luke Fewster. Each has their moment to shine, but the real highlight for me is Jedda's scene with her childhood friend, Ned (Malone), which beautifully weaves in spirituality and loss amongst the banter.

The set design by Ella Butler is simple and effective, leaving the playing space sparse and flexible with the only constant being Lily's cluttered table where she perches for the show. Ben Pierpoint's sound design is similarly impactful, using ringing phones to drive the play to its feverish climax.

A Little Piece of Ash is a remarkable debut from Megan Wilding. I believe the season has actually sold out at the time of writing, so beg or steal a ticket so you don't miss out.

#kings_cross
#performing_arts
#city
#theatre
#theatre -reviews
#theatres
#april
!date 17/04/2019 -- 26/04/2019
%wnsydney