Come Away With Me to the End of the World - Malthouse Theatre

Post

Subscribe

Tue 05 Jul 2016 - Sun 24 Jul 2016

Malthouse Theatre's mission statement includes a pledge to 'curate irreverent, courageous theatrical experiences from Australia and around the globe…' The use of the word 'courageous' when describing the raison d'être of a theatrical endeavour always fills me with anticipation and a teensy bit of dread. Does this mean courageous as in without fear or courageous as used to such devastating effect by Sir Humphrey Appleby in Yes, Minister?


Come Away With Me to the End of the World is a Ranters Theatre production developed with the assistance of the National Theatre Studio in London and takes place in a number of outdoor locales including the Australian bush and high up in snow-covered mountains. It's a three-hander which opens with two people (Patrick Moffat and Beth Buchanan) staring into space. Occasionally they lock eyes with audience members and smile benignly: a little disconcerting in a theatre as intimate as the Beckett. This goes on for about five minutes but it feels like fifty. Your reviewer is not good with all that eye-to-eye contact.

A conversation begins between them and we get the impression that a thread of a much longer discourse has been picked up. It ranges from sleepwalking to the art of cupping to an Italian family with an insomniac gene. The two chatterboxes are joined by a third character, played by Heather Bolton, who talks at great length about an encounter she had with a man on a bullet train. Riveting stuff.

And yet somewhere within these ramblings are things that resonate: reflections on the human condition with which most people could identify. One woman talks about the simple things she loves. The other reflects momentarily on a death she feels responsible for. The man talks about the ritual of preparing the breakfast table for his partner and creates a picture of an obsessive who loves to please. He goes on to talk about his desire to 'be one person', not a multi-facetted being who ducks and weaves according to his audience. He admits to 'constantly betraying himself' in his efforts to avoid conflict and expresses a lifelong desire to 'be one thing': "It's where I want to live."


Come Away With Me to the End of the World is an all-singing, all-dancing gabfest, complete with walking trees, a volcano and a cameo appearance by Demis Roussos. But don't let that put you off. The acapella singing is as unexpected as it is charming, ditto the tarantella and Demis's caftan should have its own show. It helps to read a bit about this play before you go if you are to have any idea of what's going on, but it's a 'courageous' production that deserves a chance.

#performing_arts
#southbank
#theatre
#theatre -reviews
#july
!date 05/07/2016 -- 24/07/2016
%wnmelbourne