Liz’s Score: 2.5 stars
The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes highlights the needs and concerns of people with various and sometimes greatly differing disabilities living in our society today. Groundbreaking because the actors themselves in Back to Back Theatre have those disabilities and they, together with collaborators and guided by Director, Bruce Gladwin have devised, improvised and scripted the play themselves.
The audience is not the voyeur of these people as in a typical play and the people with disabilities are not ‘in care’ as in ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’. The cast take control as a panel in a community centre in Geelong addressing the audience as the local community. They are attempting to make the audience “get it”.
The audience “gets it” by observing the interaction between the characters all with different abilities and ways of seeing and being in the world. The appalling treatment of people with disabilities throughout history is detailed centre stage in a speech from a raised ‘pulpit’. Today’s political correctness is highlighted throughout as one character instructs the others on suitable modes of behaviour.
On a large banner above the bare stage the entire dialogue appears as it is spoken. Performer, Sarah takes offence stating that they are not speaking a foreign language. Nevertheless, Siri is often called upon by the characters and responds on this banner; she also communes and occasionally disagrees with characters. During one interaction with Siri Sarah cries out in frustration and despair “you are not human”. This device works; the dominant place of artificial intelligence in the future is clearly evoked.
The Back to Back Theatre has had great local and international acclaim. Its past production Ganesh versus the Third Reich was performed at the same Carriageworks venue in 2014. I was expecting something of this caliber and was a little disappointed with this production.
The huge stage and lack of set visually dominated. It could have suggested alienation in an austere world but it only served to diminish the engagement between the characters on stage and the audience. In particular the humor was lost because of the staging. Some humorous asides took place in a far back
corner of the stage with the characters in full view but too far away for their facial expressions or gestures to be seen.
The music, too detracted rather than enhanced the work. The soundtrack rose to various crescendos at times and this seemed to have little relevance to the action on the stage.
On a positive note the performances and interactions of Mark Deans, Michael Chan, Simon Laherty, Sarah Mainwaring, and Scott Price were flawless and polished and what impact this work had should be attributed them.
Liz O’Toole – Theatre Now
