Flood at The Old 505 Theatre. Photograph by Alexandra Nell.
Three boys, three girls, two weeks, and a Tarago in the outback. The scenario is a pretty typical experience of many white Australian 20-somethings, and lends itself aptly to the comic genre. With Flood, writer Chris Isaacs has taken this familiar scenario and produced a very different coming-of-age story. When the protagonists are confronted by an Aboriginal man in the secluded outback, they are forced to acknowledge the prejudices inherent in their treatment of him. In the heat of the moment, confusion abounds. Was he drunk? Was he violent? Does anything justify his fate?
Blushing from West coast success, Flood makes its East coast debut in the quirky and intimate space of the Old 505 Theatre. It is unclear whether the physicality of performances were constrained by the venue, or whether that was a directorial choice, but either way, performances are driven more by dialogue than anything else. Which is not a bad thing, as the writing holds up and the ensemble is very tight.
Isaacs has tackled a subject matter in Flood; one that many might shy away from. It is a sad fact that the legacy of political correctness is that to say nothing is viewed as the most culturally sensitive approach. The cowardice of this logic is the conversation Flood seeks to address head on, and speaks not as a voice of authority, but from an individual perspective. In doing so, Isaacs avoids the preachy tones of other such cautionary tales, instead encouraging each of us to be honest and self-reflective about our biases. The writing is engaging, energetic and well paced (if overly dialogue driven and, in this production, visually lacking). The story falters a little at the end, as the conclusion feels a little half-baked, but in no way undoes all the good that came before.
The set is simply dressed by set designer Stephanie Howe with panels of fabric draped from the ceiling. These panels dissect the performance space into horizontal layers, creating depth in a very narrow space. It’s an elegant concept but the potential to play with these visual layers was unfortunately not exploited to its full potential. Lighting design by Lachlan Hogan is simple and effective, but sound design (a joint effort by Charles Sanders and Lachlan Hogan) was poorly thought-out, which is a shame in small venues, as the capacity of sound to enhance the story is virtually unlimited.
Director Charles Sanders has focused on the dynamics of ensemble performance at the expense of other audio-visual aspects of this production, which, if one had a one or the other mentality, was probably the right choice for this dialogue driven play. Mostly, the energy among the characters is engaging enough to forgive all the little flaws. The one exception is the watermelon which stands in lieu of an old Aboriginal man. It was too much of a sight-gag to overlook, and had the added distraction of filling the air with the delicious scent of summer in the middle of the darkest scene in the play. Overall though, Flood is an tight 60 minutes of Australian conversation that doesn’t get heard nearly as often as it deserves to, and it’s uncompromising bravery speaks highly of all involved. Do yourself a favour and see it during it’s short run – your integrity will thank you for it.
3 ½ stars out of 5
Lambert House Enterprises presents
Flood
By Chris Isaacs
Directed by Charles Sanders
With Chandel Brandimarti, Caitlin Burley, Olivia Jubb, Aaron Lucas, David Thomas, Jackson Williams and James Wright
The Old 505 Theatre, Newtown
8 November – 19 November 2016
