Image: Fringe World
Two men are in a bar, one trying to drink alone, the other looking for company. Introductions are skipped as the garrulous older man delightedly realises that he has found a fellow Australian, against all odds, in a remote Spanish village. The young man gradually reveals some details of his life in the village, some of the circumstances for his arrival there, under the barrage of questions and banter from his new companion. Despite wanting to go home, he is prevailed upon to wait with the tourist, waiting for the visitor’s wife to join them. The conversation flows with the booze, apparently random topics of conversation are introduced, and the young man becomes nervous, tries not to react. The titular anecdote refers to the discovery of a man’s body out in the Californian desert, a long way away from Australia, Spain or the South African mine where the man who became a meal for buzzards had committed a crime. The arrival of the tourist’s wife joins up earlier conversational points, and decisions are made.
Under the direction of Joe Lui, a talented cast take this thrilling tale of greed, fear and vengeance and capture the attention from the first moment to the last. Nathaniel Moncrieff has carefully prepared a script where skilled presentation allows each shift in perception to thunk into place, as each layer of lies is uncovered. Austin Castiglione plays Gerry superbly, haunted by his rash decision and hasty actions, drinking to dull the pain but waking each morning still in his own world of despair. Jeremy Mitchell plays the garrulous tourist well, and the near-imperceptible slide to a more disturbing reading of his character hits each audience member at different points. His commentary on life raises some laughs, all the more uncomfortable later when the context abruptly shifts and sinister horror dawns. Ella Hetherington thickens the discomforting atmosphere with her matter-of-fact presentation of matters, punctuated frequently by the old-fashioned, kindly endearment of “pet”, nearly sad as the news of the ramifications of his actions for his wife and daughter breaks on Gerry.
A deceptively simple stage setting, with no scene changes, is more than amply filled by the acting in this production. A reminder that solid dramatic theatre can be built on an intelligent script presented by talented actors, with a clear directorial vision and no technical gimmickry, A Circle of Buzzards is a theatrical highlight of FringeWorld 2015.
Rating: 4 out of 4.5 stars
A Circle of Buzzards
PICA Performance Space, Perth Cultural Centre
FringeWorld
By Nathaniel Moncrieff
Presented by The Blue Room Theatre Summer Nights and The Comedians in association with PICA
Director: Joe Lui
Producer: Sam Farringdon
Sound Design: The Men From Another Place
Lighting Design: Chris Donnelly
Performed by Austin Castiglione, Jeremy Mitchell and Ella Hetherington
16 – 21 February 2015
