The intimacy of Sydney’s Ensemble Theatre seemingly magnified the intensity of this drama – the claustrophobic tensions within a family as it tries to reconcile a dark past with a pressing future; a web of secrets guarded so tightly that the scene is set to ignite in the desert heat of its Palms Springs locale.
You thought your Christmases were torturous! All pale in comparison to the scene American playwright Jon Robin Baitz unfolds in Other Desert Cities.
Directed by Ensemble’s own Co-Artistic Director, Mark Kilmurry, Baitz’s Other Desert Cities earned the writer a Tony nominee, was a 2012 Pulitzer Prize Finalist, and received a Drama League Award.
The play opens in the lounge of the Wyeths’ Palm Springs home on Christmas Eve – sisters Polly (Deborah Kennedy) and Silda (Diana McLean) once a Hollywood screen writing team; Silda just a whiff of a whisky bottle away from falling off the wagon. Polly’s husband Lyman (Ken Shorter) a retired actor come US diplomat – has a US-ring to it wouldn’t you say? – and their two self-absorbed children, writer Brook (Lisa Gormley), who has emerged from depression and is filled with energy for championing a cause, and Trip (Stephen Multari), producer of television trash.
Regular guests at Nancy and Ronnie’s (Reagan) house, vigilant Republicans and supporters of the invitation of Iraq, Kennedy and Shorter superbly capture the costs their characters pay for their political ticket.
Kennedy’s performance as the steely Polly, in particular, stonewalls any doubt with conviction; her delivery of barbs seemingly heartless.
Is blood thicker than vanity? This play adds a twist on the saying.
And, as if a butcher’s knife had sharpened their tongues, the script slices deep; no-one gets off with special treatment. Every character bumps and jars against each other, trying to hold their ground – which seems to be slipping out from under each of them – while a vehement sense of pride obscures their clarity.
‘Lots of locked doors in her dolls’ house,’ Polly describes her daughter, while echoing her own hidden demons. When Polly says, ‘I hate being fair’, it is not humour but truth that snags us.
The situation depicted is raw and real, making those watching wince in their seats as the prickle and bite of love challenged, love expected, and love lost rode out Baitz’s impression of a Christmas eve tale.
But this is far more than a spat about politics and family.
Like the elephant in the room, Brook’s soon-to-be-published manuscript promises to debunk the family’s reputation – and indeed the family itself – using her parents as the scapegoat for her favourite brother’s controversial death.
There is little love lost in this family. Or is there?
Gormley shines as Brook; her performance holding the production together, comfortable in the character and bringing a brightness to it. It is her debut with Ensemble Theatre, and a memorable one.
Australian’s do American accents poorly, and while this production started off with a blazing attempt to get them right, through its course let go; the performance all the better for it.
Rating: 3 stars out of 5
Other Desert Cities
By Jon Robin Baitz
Directed by Mark Kilmurry
Cast include Deborah Kennedy, Lisa Gormley, Diana McLean, Stephen Multari and Ken Shorter
Ensemble Theatre, Kirribilli
11 September – 18 October
