Theatre review: The Comprehensive A-Z of Missing Persons Australia, The Liberty Theatre

The Western Australian Youth Theatre Company (WAYTCo) presents an original theatrical work as an examination of the national missing persons crisis. The Comprehensive A-Z of Missing Persons Australia is a production full of information delivered through physical theatre, multimedia and verbatim theatre. For the duration of the performance, the seriousness of the topic is underscored by the steady enumeration of hundreds of names listed in the Australian Missing Persons Register.

WAYTCo is a creative community for young artists, an incubator for devising through experiment and play. The first stage development of the work occurred during WAYTCo’s inaugural Summer Stage program in January 2024. The premiere was held at The Liberty Cinema as a site-responsive production in the abandoned cinema venue. The former ticketing foyer is lined with butchers’ paper, a backdrop for the names of missing people printed on white A4 sheets of paper, listed in alphabetical order by first names.

The importance of the subject material is emphasised through a steady flow of information, factual accounts and storytelling. A fictional character, radio host Em Wells (Alana Dooley), is grappling to understand why her best friend, Lizzie (Zoe Garciano), has gone missing. In her grief, she embraces a friendship with Tassie (Cianna Gallen), a thylacine who manifests as being present, although her species is extinct.

This story is interwoven with monologues by Lizzie’s sister, Kay (Rachel Abelha), who leaves recorded messages on her missing sister’s phone. The show concludes with the American pronunciation for the last letter of the alphabet, and the name of the final person to be acknowledged as missing: Lizzie. Zee.

Writer Grace Chow has explored a difficult topic with ambitious energy and fervent intensity, packing various stories into the dense 70-minute theatrical performance. The writing jumps between the experiences of Lizzie, Em, Kay and Tassie to the recitation of names, interjected with transcripts from reports and speeches verbatim. This makes for busy writing as Chow grapples to prevent a large amount of information eclipsing empathetic responses from the audience. 

Artistic Director, Amelia Burke, stives to communicate the desperate situation of missing persons through intense focus on a litany of the missing. Names are recited and projected on surfaces amid swift scene changes, which can be confusing as artistic intentions are not always clear. Each scene ruptures the former, a series of ideas delivered in quick succession, sometimes overlapping with lip-syncing to pop music, individuals running through the audience, the movement of props, impromptu dance moves, the climbing of a ladder and/or clever visual projections. In one divertissement, the emphasis on alphabet letters is reinforced through scenes of young people competing in a National Spelling Bee competition.

The large youth ensemble performs with dedicated earnestness. The actors alternate roles, at times reciting names and facts of missing persons, becoming reporters or witnesses, or characters portraying real figures, such as Loren O’Keeffe (Jaimee Whirledge), Founder and CEO of the charity, The Missed Foundation.

The creatives have worked well together; the mood is brooding, pensive. The set is stark, props are sparse. Audiovisual elements are used effectively to transition scenes. Lighting emphasises the grim experience of unfinished, incomplete conversations. The ensemble is dressed in beige tones, a drab reminder of how we all can be invisible before we are missed.

A strength in the work are the quiet moments that draw attention to how absence and the acute not knowing of the whereabouts of a loved one may deeply impact family and friends. In one scene, ensemble members turn slowly in unison to watch the projected faces of missing individuals receding on a back screen. In several scenes, cast members holding torches fill the entire space, shining lights into corners, constantly searching.

Read: Book review: New Australian Fiction 2024, Suzy Garcia (editor)

The pace of the production is busy, eager, earnest: a plea to consider a community of the missing. In the end, the audience is left with a comprehensive enumeration of those still missing in Australia, a listing of losses, name by name, from A through to Zee. 

The Comprehensive A-Z of Missing Persons Australia – WA Youth Theatre Company
The Liberty Theatre, Perth, Western Australia 
Writer: Grace Chow 
Director: Amelia Burke 
Producer: Zoë Hollyoak 
Set and Costume Designer: Fiona Bruce 
Lighting Designer: Matthew Erren 
Sound Designer: David Stewart
AV Designer: Roly Skender 
Stage Manager: Holly Ballam
Technical Assistant: Tom Tasovac
Design Assistants: Charlotte Meagher and  
Production Manager: Roger Millera
 
Cast: Alana Dooley, Cianna Gallen, Rachel Abelha, Zoe Garciano, Sharni Andersson, Caleb Macauley, Jaimee Whirledge, Ben Ginbey, Clea Purkis, Rali Maynard

Tickets: from $36

The Comprehensive A-Z of Missing Persons Australia will be performed until 30 November 2024.