Families. Love them or loathe them, they often provide the basis of good drama. Case in point: this Australian production of Other Desert Cities by Black Swan and Queensland Theatre Companies.
Expertly directed by Kate Cherry, this masterfully witty work by American playwright Jon Robin Baitz is a compelling political and family drama about the entertainment-industry-connected Wyeth family from California, and was originally performed on Broadway in late 2011.
In this production, the script – despite the initial impression of a Noel Coward drawing room comedy – quickly draws a line in the sand between conservative Republicans, Polly and Lyman Wyeth (played brilliantly by Janet Andrewartha and Robert Coleby) and ‘whining liberals’, as Polly calls them.
‘Hollywood stopped being fun once it became about drugs and lefties whining,’ Polly opines.
Enter her prodigal daughter, Brooke (Rebecca Davis), returning home for the first time in six years; Brooke’s brother, Trip Wyeth, less political than his family, his foot firmly in the pleasure camp and working in reality TV; and Silda, Polly’s sister (played in acerbic rehab mode by Vivienne Garrett).
Charming, smart and talented, this well-connected family’s facades quickly threaten to splinter with Brooke’s news that’s she’s about to publish a tell-all memoir about her childhood.
The actors are both individually astute in their masterful characterisations and bounce off each other in the ensemble in an excellent performance. Brooke – previously hospitalised for suicidal depression – is presented as being just this side of hysterical, a balancing act well played by Davis. Andrewartha delivers her lines with brittle humour (‘It’s all or nothing with your generation – either vegans or meth addicts!’) and the writing is sharp, clever and pointed.
Kate Cherry’s direction cleverly mimics the family dynamic, coordinating smaller subsets of the family, and is complimented by the clean lines of Christina Smith’s set design. The lighting design, by Trent Suidgeest, achieves brilliant morning and late afternoon hues.
Sound designer Tony Brumpton must also rate a mention for the evocative compilation of updated ‘California dreaming’ music.
This is a polished and enjoyable night of theatre, the work leaving you fully satisfied at many levels. The actors all portraying interesting individuals, though the stand out for me was Conrad Coleby as Trip Wyeth. However Andrewartha as the matriarch, keeping her secrets close, plays a fine line between controlling, distancing, and finally purging her emotions.
The play has a startling dénouement and there is a reconciliation of sorts, despite the dreadful secret that is revealed. The playwright takes the audience on an emotionally satisfying journey, powerfully using wit and metaphor. As the son, Trip Wyeth, says: ‘Being funny is all we’ve got left now that they’re flying planes into buildings’.
This amusing commentary on family dynamics and contemporary politics is well worth your time.
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Black Swan State Theatre Company and Queensland Theatre Company present
Other Desert Cities
Written by Jon Robin Baitz
Directed by Kate Cherry
Assistant Director: Emily McLean.
Set and Costume Design: Christina Smith
Lighting Design: Trent Suidgeest
Sound Design: Tony Brumpton
Performed by Janet Andrewartha, Conrad Coleby, Robert Coleby, Rebecca Davis, and Vivienne Garrett
Heath Ledger Theatre, State Theatre Centre of WA
24 July – 4 August
