Claire Lovering, James O’Connell, Ed Wightman in Detroit; photo Gez Xavier Mansfield
Nestled in the social isolation and economic depression of suburban Detroit, Mary (Lisa Chappell) and Ben (Ed Wightman) stagnate in a lackluster marriage of complacency. Ben, after losing his job, is theoretically setting up his own business from home whilst settling comfortably into his role as house-husband. Mary is an uptight paralegal by day and alcoholic by night. Their marriage is typically suburban, with all the pretense of domestic bliss whilst repression, resentment and boredom simmers just below the surface. When they befriend their new neighbours Kenny (James O’Connell) and Sharon (Claire Lovering), an enigmatic pair of recovering junkies, an unlikely friendship develops.
Lisa D’Amour’s 2011 play Detroit was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Blackburn Prize but it’s hard to understand why. Despite being wildly funny and quite entertaining, it is ultimately disingenuous in how it tackles its subject matter. ‘Repressed-middle-aged-couple-breaks-bread-with-junkie-scum-and-hilarity-ensues’ is hardly an original premise in the theatre world, whose bourgeois perspective regularly results in an exoticism of the seedy world of the underclasses. The plays that utilize this formula to it’s greatest potential (think Six Degrees of Separation) are successful due to how they promote insight, empathy and respect of victims of the seedy underworld. Detroit fails in this respect – despite pitching itself as political and promising to tackle all manner of social inequities from entrenched poverty to addiction, it fails to deliver any relevant social commentary. The rendering of the junkie couple smacks of a lack of empirical experience with their world, resulting in a stereotypical and shallow treatment of these characters. The crux of the story is summarised unconvincingly in the final ten minutes, by a random character whom we have no emotional connection to, in a monologue about Detroit’s glorious past.
It’s not a complete train wreck. Although the writing falls short in the story department, the dialogue writing is hilarious. The comedy is brought to life by a stellar cast who’s charisma reinvigorates characters who are essentially one-dimensional. Chappell and Wightman both demonstrate impressive range and believability in their character journeys. Under the influence of their new free-spirited friends, they slowly become less inhibited and make admissions of absurd fantasies of living in the woods and being British. It’s a ridiculous pathway to liberation, but Chappell and Wightman sell it well. O’Connell is a bumbling presence in the background until he steals the show with an impromptu freestyle performance that completely won the audience over. Lovering is the standout performance. Her Sharon is a unique combination of goofiness and ditziness that is unexpectedly endearing, making her the most likeable character in a very likeable cast. It’s enough to overlook the fact that this character is the quintessential female trope, vulnerable and free-spirited party girl (who becomes sexually voracious after just one beer).
Both couples’ houses are built, back-to-back on set, allowing scenes changes to occur with a simple 180-degree turn of the stage. This allows a seamless scene transition which can take place in plain sight of the audience. It would have been a nice device, had it not been marred by the stagehand being in plain sight of the audience whilst they were turning the stage, not once, but twice – surprisingly sloppy for an otherwise slick production. It’s a shame that a simple thing has ruined what should have been a very pleasing visual transition on an otherwise lovely realist set by Tobhiyah Stone Feller.
The most enjoyable thing about this production is the comedy, but one wonders if the darker themes of the play are overshadowed by that comedy. Ross McGregor’s direction is clearly performance centered, but fails to depict the American climate in an authentic way. McGregor’s director’s note references Detroit city specifically, stating that when Detroit filed for bankruptcy in 2013, 40% of it’s streetlights were not functioning, but we see no evidence of this atmosphere of endemic economic depression in Detroit. The failures of this production may be attributed to meaning being lost in translation by an Australian director as much as to the poor story writing. Arguably, even an authentic depiction of American culture might have been lost on an Australian audience. This then begs the question: what is the social capital of staging this play in Australia? Being neither a true depiction of mid-west American life, nor of Australian life, it becomes doubly contrived.
With high production values, snappy dialogue and stellar performances, Detroit is an enjoyable enough night at the theatre. But those seeking more meat at their dinner party will be left unsatisfied.
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Detroit
Director Ross McGregor
Cast Lisa Chappell Ronald Falk Claire Lovering James O’Connell Ed Wightman
Production Designer Tobhiyah Stone Feller Lighting Designer Benjamin Brockman Sound Designer Jeremy Silver
Darlinghurst Theatre Company
Eternity Playhouse, Darlinghurst
17 July – 16 August
