Brother's Wreck, Malthouse Theatre & State Theatre Co of South Australia, Merlyn Theatre, Tuesday June 19th 2018

Brother's Wreck, Malthouse Theatre & State Theatre Co of South Australia, Merlyn Theatre, Tuesday June 19th 2018

"Brothers Wreck", Malthouse Theatre & State Theatre Co of South Australia, Merlyn Theatre, Tuesday June 19th 2018.

For those new to my blog I write about the holistic experience of attending the theatre. I buy my own tickets. So if you want a re-telling of the story please refer to the links for further information or for further insights.  Note, that I may provide different links for repeated main words or phrases.  I write for my memories of what I have seen, and is more of a stream of consciousness.

"Brothers Wreck", is a co-production of the Malthouse Theatre & the State Theatre Co of South Australia, and was presented at the Merlyn Theatre on Tuesday June 19th 2018.

Mental illness, suicide and family violence can happen across any sector of society.  The play "Brother's Wreck" shows the effects of a suicide on an indigenous family in Darwin.  The effects of any of these events can be traumatising for any family member.  We are witnessing such disintegration.

Yes, I may not be indigenous but I have had to endure over 41 years of mental illness in family situations and it is not a pretty sight.  Sometimes people are forgotten in the mix as others concentrate on the obviously ill person.  This aspect was touched upon in this play and created the most poignant moments between Ruben and Auntie played respectively by Dion Williams and Lisa Flanagan.

The story could have been stronger, both emotionally and dramatically, for an audience had the play been edited and directed with fresh eyes.  Some scenes did not progress the story.  The opening sequence visually was a flashback and created the contract with the audience.  It was a shame that more of this was not utilised to reduce the wordiness and bog the story down with filler.

The acting varied in quality.

Ruben played by Dion Williams has a booming voice that projected well into the large theatre, though his diction was hard to understand at times.  He played honestly the troubled brother suppressing and denying his feelings and help.  He also was one of the few actors to show us: where he had come from with each entrance, and and where he was emotionally going when he exited for each scene.  He showed us the five stages of grief - denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

Leonie Whyman played Ruben's sister with Nelson Baker as Jacob as her partner.  Trevor Jamieson played the counsellor.

Lisa Flanagan played the Auntie and created a credible and truthful relationship with Ruben.  Their interactions on a few occasions created my emotional response.

Written and Directed by Jada Alberts has created a good template for future productions.  Some of the staging was awkward as the players were lacking purpose of what they were doing, and thus stood around a lot.  When the actors showed us some purpose of movement: this created the most resonance and life to the play.

Composition and Sound Design by Kelly Ryall included music and mainly rain effects.  This was as if the heavens were crying and we were too.  Yes the sound at times drowned out most of the performers, and they were all wearing microphones and still they were hard to hear - as they were not projecting their voices.  Simple - project the voice.

Lighting Design by Chris Petridis was effective as if enclosing and caging the action as if prisoners of their own environment.  This worked beautifully with the Set and Costume Design by Dale Ferguson.  The exit image through the central doorway was also used in "Away" to replicate a coffin.  The walls were made of plastic but looked like metal before the show began.  It was a lovely surprise when the lighting created the opaque effect.  This was highlighted when the rain was dripping down the sides, paying homage to "Singing In The Rain" with the technical difficulties of working with water on stage.

Jade Alberts directed the entrances and exits with the wings in clear view as if the actors were a Greek chorus or witnesses to the outside influences on such tragedies.  This touch added so much to the production as the players would ceremoniously wait for their cues to the drama in clear view - observers and sometimes with their hands tied to be able to do anything to assist.

Some of the stage action did not ring true as actors were censoring their full actions and not following through with a sense of purpose.  Sometimes the sense of purpose was not clear and created an in-congruence between words and action.  This jarred the production and marred the emotional connection between the characters.

I gave "Brothers Wreck" a 7/10.