EMPIRE: Terror on the High Seas tells the story of a group of first class passengers enjoying their Atlantic passage by engaging in general debauchery, until an unknown murderer strikes. As the death count rises, bumbling detective, Inspector Archie Daniels (Duncan Fellows) draws the conclusion that the perpetrator is also in first class, but he fails to identify them until the very end of the play. Meanwhile, the killer reveals their identity at the end of Act One, leaving the second act free for a series of macabre killings.
Toby Schmitz’s latest play is set in 1924, the same year the British Empire Exhibition hosted ‘Races in Residence’ to showcase the foreigners of the empire. As in the British Empire of the day, racist stereotyping is rife in this play. Described by director Leland Kean as one of the largest Australian works written for stage, it is an ambitious project, which confronts the audience with the fact that many of our ancestors were involved in terrible atrocities. The fall of the victims mirrors the tumbling of the British Empire in the mid 20th century.
Unfortunately for the production, it overreaches itself. The multitude of hidden nuances and references might work well as prose, but prove too much when presented in the thick layers of this play. The murder mystery doesn’t remain mysterious for long, and the killer’s identity is obvious well before it is revealed.
The characters’ roles are challenging, and the cast on the whole do a good job. Nathan Lovejoy (as Mr. Richard Civil-Lowe Cavendish), Billie Rose Prichard (Poppy Mitchell) and Ella Scott Lynch (Nicole Hertz- Hollingsworth) deserve special mention. Anthony Gee’s South African accent is largely irritating for much of the beginning of Act One, although his character, Mr. Anthony Hertz- Hollingsworth is an interesting one.
Bondi Pavilion is perfect for a play set on the water, although several audience members were overheard questioning if the intense heat inside the theatre was intentional to add to the feeling of claustrophobia. The idea is probably a little meta-physical even for this production, especially when the set designer (James Browne) and sound designer (Jed Silver) have already done such an excellent job of creating this effect.
Toby Schmitz is clearly a hugely talented playwright and his previous partnership with Leland Kean was widely acclaimed. EMPIRE: Terror on the High Seas is simply too long, its characters too unlikeable, and its interesting historical references too clouded by other events for the play to appeal to the masses.
Rating: 3 stars out of 5
Tamarama Rock Surfers present
EMPIRE: Terror on the High Seas
By Toby Schmitz
Director: Leland Kean
Assistant Director: Phil Spencer
Set/Costume Designer: James Browne
Lighting Design: Luiz Pampolha
Sound Design: Jed Silver
Voice Coach: Nick Curnow
Fight Director: Scott Witt
Cast: Robert Alexander, Lawrence Ashford, Fayssal Bazzi, Jamwel Danao, Duncan Fellows, Anthony Gee, Anthony Gooley, Elaine Hudson, Uli Latukefu, Nathan Lovejoy, James Lugton, Billie Rose Pritchard, Ella Scott Lynch, Phil Spencer and Ben Wood
Bondi Pavilion Theatre, Bondi
28 August – 28 September
(Pictured: Photo: Zak Kaczmarek)
