In her play Which Way Home writer, Katie Beckett, has managed to capture a lifetime of a father daughter relationship in an hour on stage. This semi–autobiographical play is an engaging homage to her dad.
Father and daughter take a road trip back ‘home’ to Mount Isa and as we travel with them we feel the frustrations, the fun and the love between these two. Place and time become irrelevant as we are moved between past and present only to find we are actually, without knowing, in the future.
Control is a theme throughout. Both daughter and father try to control each other without succeeding. The daughter is desperate to control her dad’s health, packing fruit and nuts and scheduling in snack and meal breaks. She also tries to stay in control of the journey with the aid of Siri and her mobile until she poignantly loses the signal and her way.
In scenes of the past the father tries to keep control of his daughter in order to protect her. He doesn’t want her taken away from him either by the authorities or by another man. Hence she hasn’t had boyfriends as a teenager and now as a young adult hasn’t brought her boyfriend home to meet her dad. The unwillingness of the father to talk about his wife, her mother is the only time the two seems unable to communicate – love of a lost one being to painful for them both.
The play shows us a loving father, with a penchant for silly humour who is at times flawed, and a daughter who loves him dearly. The two actors Katie Beckett (the writer of the play) and Kamahi Djordon King, deliver the performances required to convey this relationship.
The largely humorous mood of the play gives extra weight to the poignant moments. The music (Mark Coles Smith, Sound Designer) captures and underscores these moods and the song lyrics “don’t know why I love you but I do” neatly sum up the relationships between the father, his daughter and the absent mother.
The set is simple; a few packing cases which serve as the car and an indistinct earth-colored floor to ceiling map. No more is needed for the two characters to take their journey.
The director (Rachael Maza) notes in the program, “This is a universal human story that transcends race, time and place.” Hence, although the characters are Aboriginal, this does not seem central to the play.
The work is well structured, and the dialogue allows the audience to seamlessly move with the father and daughter on their emotional journey. This first play by Katie Beckett is a well written, heartwarming and engaging work.
Liz O’Toole – Theatre Now
Photography credit: Snehargho Ghosh.
Which Way Home
Katie Beckett
24 July – 4 Aug 2018
Tue 24 Jul. 7:30pm
Wed 25 Jul. 11am (plus Q&A)
Fri 27 Jul. 7:30pm
Sat 28 Jul. 7:30pm
Mon 30 Jul. 11am (plus Q&A)
Tue 31 Jul. 6:30pm (plus Q&A)
Wed 1 Aug. 11am (plus Q&A)
Fri 3 Aug. 7:30pm
Sat 4 Aug. 2pm, 7:30pm
Venue: Seymour: Reginald
Theatre Company: Ilbijerri Theatre Company
Duration: 65 mins (no interval)
