Review | SCARBOROUGH
March 2nd 2009 06:20
:
Review
SCARBOROUGH
presented by Holden Street Theatres Company Inc.
& Directors' Choice 09, from March 5 - 22
34 Holden Street
Hindmarsh
next to the Soccer Stadium
FREE PARKING
Your secret's safe with me.
Memory deleted.
A young, unknowing Queen Elizabeth II smiles approvingly from the constraints of a picture frame at Daz and Lauren, a loved-up couple having a dirty weekend in honour of Daz's birthday, while audience members line the walls of the set - a small, dingy hotel room so intimate that a maximum of only 20 people can view the performance at a time. Like the Queen, these voyeuristic flies on the wall, confined in close proximity to both each other and the actors, witness the car crash of a relationship unfold. Wanting to look away but unable to, the audience is drawn in by shocking secrets that are gradually unpacked in Fiona Evans' Edinburgh Festival award winning two-hander.
Lauren is a Physical Education teacher. Daz is her 16 year old student. Relationships can rarely be seen in black and white terms and this one is no exception. While the issue of inappropriate teacher/student relationships is not new - we only need look at the media files about Mary Kay Fualaau in the 1990s through to the more recent case of Debra Lafave, Evans' script explores the grey area of these controversial affairs.
The direction by Martha Lott satisfies the restrictions of the performance venue and actors Emily Branford and Sebastian Freeman maintain unwavering focus throughout the see-saw power struggle lying at the crux of the plot. The limited acting area does not impede the movement of the skilled pair, who completely own the space. As the teacher turned seducer, Branford successfully delivers a multifaceted interpretation of a woman torn between her values and desires. Newcomer Freeman looks older than the 16 years of his character, but manages to elicit the ignorance and naivety of a schoolboy smitten by his teacher.
In this day and age, technology, particularly the mobile phone and internet, makes it relatively easy to access people. It also has the power to bring about the downfall of individuals if used without caution. The information stored on technological devices can be deleted by pressing one key. With matters of the heart, it's not that simple.
Anita Baltutis
Book your tickets at adelaidefringe.com.au or call Fringe Tix on 1300 374 643
presented by Holden Street Theatres Company Inc.
& Directors' Choice 09, from March 5 - 22
34 Holden Street
Hindmarsh
next to the Soccer Stadium
FREE PARKING
Your secret's safe with me.
Memory deleted.
A young, unknowing Queen Elizabeth II smiles approvingly from the constraints of a picture frame at Daz and Lauren, a loved-up couple having a dirty weekend in honour of Daz's birthday, while audience members line the walls of the set - a small, dingy hotel room so intimate that a maximum of only 20 people can view the performance at a time. Like the Queen, these voyeuristic flies on the wall, confined in close proximity to both each other and the actors, witness the car crash of a relationship unfold. Wanting to look away but unable to, the audience is drawn in by shocking secrets that are gradually unpacked in Fiona Evans' Edinburgh Festival award winning two-hander.
Lauren is a Physical Education teacher. Daz is her 16 year old student. Relationships can rarely be seen in black and white terms and this one is no exception. While the issue of inappropriate teacher/student relationships is not new - we only need look at the media files about Mary Kay Fualaau in the 1990s through to the more recent case of Debra Lafave, Evans' script explores the grey area of these controversial affairs.
The direction by Martha Lott satisfies the restrictions of the performance venue and actors Emily Branford and Sebastian Freeman maintain unwavering focus throughout the see-saw power struggle lying at the crux of the plot. The limited acting area does not impede the movement of the skilled pair, who completely own the space. As the teacher turned seducer, Branford successfully delivers a multifaceted interpretation of a woman torn between her values and desires. Newcomer Freeman looks older than the 16 years of his character, but manages to elicit the ignorance and naivety of a schoolboy smitten by his teacher.
In this day and age, technology, particularly the mobile phone and internet, makes it relatively easy to access people. It also has the power to bring about the downfall of individuals if used without caution. The information stored on technological devices can be deleted by pressing one key. With matters of the heart, it's not that simple.
Anita Baltutis
Book your tickets at adelaidefringe.com.au or call Fringe Tix on 1300 374 643
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David Jobling
