Tess has come back, and the town still hates her. It’s been ten years since she was sent to prison, having admitted to setting the fire that devastated the town – burning down houses and destroying farms, ruining livelihoods, and even killing her best friend. Understandably, no-one is happy to see her back – and that includes her aunty, who cut her off from the family in order to placate the community. When Tess finds out that her mother died, one month after the fact, she comes back to the town to mourn, and to be with her brother, while trying her best to avoid the townsfolk, the police, and her ex.
Flame Trees is the latest play by Australian playwright Wayne Tunks (The Subtle Art of Flirting); an examination of the impact of bushfires on lives and communities, told from the viewpoint of the accused arsonist. This perspective is a unique one, and from its opening scene, the play hits all the right notes in terms of plot. Each scene is an explosion waiting to happen. Not a character is out of place, and the surprises keep coming, resulting in an enjoyable evening at the theatre.
Where Flame Trees struggles is not with the big picture, but in the detail. All of the major boxes are ticked in terms of plot, but neither the dialogue nor the performances live up to the narrative’s potential. There is considerable repetition of ideas, and the dialogue insists on telling the audience things that the action has already made plain. The lines seem a little forced, the performances halting. Often, the characters’ words seem written, rather than thought and spoken, and even this late in the production’s season, some fumbles with lines were evident.
Matthew Candeland and Hannah Gott gave strong if sometimes actorly performances; Tunks himself, and Sarah Berryman, were sometimes a tad overdone.
More time in rehearsal, and perhaps further development of the script, are necessary before Flame Trees is really ready for audiences.
Flame Trees
Writer: Wayne Tunks
Director: Perri Cummings
With: Sarah Berryman, Matthew Candeland, Hannah Gott, Sally McLean, Wayne Tunks and James Mason
Theatre Works, St Kilda
6 – 16 March
