Image: Supplied. Photographer: Jodie Hutchinson
The great joy one gets from leaving a play like Elise Hearst’s The Mesh is that, whatever faults may lie in production, we have been privy to the mind of a clever writer who assumes the intelligence of his/her audience and who has the skill to keep them on edge without the use of cheap expository tricks.
Surrealistic, poetic and bizarrely comic, The Mesh introduces us to Wolf, Clara, Max and Lotte – lost souls whose fantastical costume parties can no longer hide the fact that their future is hanging by a thread as they wait in a strange country, Godot-like for their mysterious ‘citizenships’ to arrive. All the while they are stalked by two ‘suits’ – Lynchian characters if ever I saw them – whose often hilarious arrivals suggest at far more sinister intentions.
What makes Hearst’s play work is her ability to suggest plot rather than illustrate it; she resists temptations such as the almost obligatory ‘life was better’ speech that dominates the third acts of so many lesser writers, or the melodramatic realisation of the protagonist that their tragic undoing is due to their own actions (you know the stops!!). Instead we are forced to wonder – just what is in those letters Lotte is so terrified of? Are the suits really following Wolf? Hearst’s storytelling skills are such that she can intrigue and mystify without confusing before twisting the whole thing on its head.
Director Paige Rattray, following her sensational season with Myth Project: Twin, again proves that she is carving out the title of the Melbourne theatre’s Queen of the Surreal. She keeps the pace flowing nicely, handling each scene with control and, as she did in Myth, shows a unique and wonderful talent for contrast in a way that does not feel forced or contrived.
Although the script is tight and the direction clear, I could not help but get the sense that this production wasn’t quite ready to go up in front of an audience. Yes, choices from both actor and director were indeed intriguing, however it didn’t seem to take off with the performances on a whole. It felt like the actors were running on 80%, almost not entirely comfortable with the running the whole play. The exception being the electrifying Olga Makeeva, as Suit 2, whose sharp comic timing brings a much needed adrenaline shot to the production. For the shortest one onstage, she oozes authority over the proceedings like some evil prankster. Also notable is the talented Rosie Lockhart, who finds depth and nuance in her fragile Carla. Other performances seem self-conscience and lethargic.
Tom Hogan’s ethereal score adds nice colour to the overall effect while Ross Graham’s lighting design is simple and unobtrusive. Mattea Davies’ set design is minimalist to the point of being close to bare – but given the suffocating atmosphere these characters inhabit, is perhaps the point.
This world premiere performance, I am sure, will evolve and grow, but right now it is simply budding. Challenging without being verbose, this a fine example of a gifted writer and terrific director, who bravely place as much trust in their audience as they do in their actors. For that, we can be thankful.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
The Mesh
Writer: Elise Hearst
Director: Paige Rattray
Co-Producer: Belina Kelley
Set & Costume Design: Mattea Davies
Lighting Designer: Ross Graham
Composer: Tom Hogan
Choreographer: Kurt Phelan
Stage Manager: Melissa Place
Featuring: Ella Caldwell, Nick Masters, Rose Lockhart, Kevin Kiernan-Molloy, Tom Dent and Olga Makeeva
Red Stitch Actors Theatre, St. Kilda East
www.redstitch.net
15 October – 8 November 2014
