The Removalists
The Gold Coast Little
Theatre
Saturday 29th March, 2014
In typical David Williamson style, The
Removalists is confronting, amusing, insightful, dramatic and
completely lacking of an ending … but who really cares?
Opening last Friday
evening at The Gold Coast Little Theatre
in Southport, this classic piece of Australian writing is a look back at a time
in the 1970s, when calling the police to attend a domestic dispute might simply
result in even more violence.
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| Jack Henry & Patrick Monteath |
Directed by newcomer Patrick Monteath, The Removalists moves along at a nice pace … until the furniture
has all gone, then it seems to stall for a while. However there is a very real,
sometimes bordering on uncomfortable, sense of drama and pathos to this play
and Mr Monteath has worked his cast well so as nobody is left on stage without
action or purpose at any time. I lost count of how many cups of tea the
removalist (Bruce Alkner Jr.) made …
it was a nice character trait, it was great action and, well, it was funny.
Another pleasant
piece of action was the scene change in Act I in which we are literally
transported from the police station to the apartment by means of a cheeky
driver, a clever set design and a well-choreographed stage crew. The set was
designed by the director (with the assistance of Darren Campbell and Michael
Sutton). While the concept, as I have mentioned, is clever, the finishing lets
it down a little … it’s all just too clean and “freshly painted”. However, it’s
a very well thought-out stage - the final moment is a particularly clever one and
again, nicely played by the man in the overalls, Bruce Alker Jr.
Jack Henry
plays the pivotal role; the old school Sargent
Dan Simmonds and the director steps into uniform as his new recruit, Constable Ross. I liked the relationship
these two developed throughout the play – their diametrically opposed
characters were quickly established and never waned. GCLT regular Kate McNair is totally believable as
the concerned, pearl-wearing big sister and Fiona Carter plays the abused wife, Candice, with a really endearing innocence and a thoroughly
believable fear.
 |
| Sean Curran & Fiona Carter |
In the white singlet, VB in hand, is Sean Curran. As always, Mr Curran brings a superb energy to the
stage and really seems to absorb himself in his tortured, self-destructive
character.
I’ve said this often
in the past: combining the roles of actor & director on stage almost never
works. However I understand that there were casting problems that all but forced
the director to assume a main role late in the production process (and, despite
the pressures, he played it very well) so I’m not going to dump on him for
stepping up to the plate. That act in itself displays a respect for his cast
and a desire to protect the show. Although I really feel that, had he have been
in a position to sit out front a little more frequently, he’d have afforded
himself a greater opportunity to tune the dynamics of each (very strong)
performance a little more finely and that may have been beneficial.
None-the-less, if you can deal with strong themes of domestic violence, this is
a quality drama with just enough laughs to leave us feeling emotionally
exhausted but not ruined.
