Susan Prior in ‘The Distance’. Photo: Jeff Busby.
There’s a strong social and cultural precedent for divorcee fathers being absent in their children’s lives; if a mother walks out on her children, though, she will face a lot more shame and stigma. Also, motherhood isn’t for everyone, it isn’t inherently ‘right’, and it’s perfectly normal for a woman not to want a family. If either of these ideas strikes you as outrageous or unfamiliar or radical, you are the audience this play wants to talk to. If, however, you’re already comfortable with these ideas, you might find the experience laborious and frustrating.
The Distance is about a British woman (Bea) who, feeling the tick of her ‘biological clock’, has started a family in Melbourne. Unsurprisingly, being forced by social pressures into starting a family does not breed motherly affection, and so she decides to return to her native Britain. Her partner is reportedly an amazing father, and so they make the joint decision that he will raise the children. The action of the play takes place when she tells her best friend Kate of her decision.
Much of the drama in the first act is contrived and repetitive. The writer has the borderline sociopathic Kate wound unbearably tight, and her inexplicable, raging lack of empathy is the one and only driving force behind the whole first act. For a solid half-hour the play maintains one pitch – that of the screaming protestations of this character who cannot accept her friend’s decision. This play was advertised as being about ‘female friendship’, yet Kate’s treatment of Bea borders on the abusive. I’m sure that such female friendships exist, but it would be remiss – dangerous, even – to suggest that this work is a celebration of that bond.
The piece picks up in the second half with the arrival of Liam, the teenage son of one of Bea’s friends. Well performed by Joe Clocek and written with nuance, this character has more of interest to say about the realities of growing up in a single-parent household than any of the adults, perhaps as a result of being the direct product of these circumstances. But before long, the adults take over again, and the piece goes back to its dialectical style, each character acting as a simplified exponent of one ‘side’ of the argument.
There were some glimpses of insight through characters like the aforementioned Liam, as well as his mother, Alex, who was played with a deft mixture of comic timing and legitimate compassion by Katrina Milosevic. Still there weren’t many moments on stage that explored this issue in a particularly nuanced or interesting way. This is a work with a clear audience in mind. For people who have yet to give significant thought to the issues, this play will be an intense and energetic introduction to the idea that a woman neglecting her familial duties should be regarded with no more scorn than a man neglecting his.Rating: 3 stars out of 5
The Distance
Writer: Deborah Bruce
Director: Leticia Cáceres
Set & Costume Designer: Tracy Grant Lord
Composer & Sound Designer: THE SWEATS
Lighting Designer: Lisa Mibus
Cast: Susan Prior, Katrina Milosevic, Nadine Garner, Ben Prendergast, Nathan Page, Martin Blum, Joe Klocek
MTC, Southbank Theatre
5 March – 9 April, 2016
