Interior by Rawcus strips away the layers of interpersonal relationships to successfully explore the uncomfortable silences that exist between the cracks in conversation. It’s a slow burn – as delicate in its delivery as it is stoic in its self-knowledge.
Opening scenes reveal surtitles displayed at the top of the set – these are used throughout the performance and are as important to the artistic vision as they are to audience accessibility. The opening scenes feature blinding white lights shining directly over the audience, which crossfade with lights above the stage until the ensemble are revealed: in the grip of a house party in an undisclosed location.
Interior brims with confidence. One of Rawcus’ core strengths has always been in the diversity of experiences shared by its ensemble, with the company leaning into these variations. Here, differences in emotions and experiences are exposed as universal threads that bind the work together.
Ensemble members take turns to speak parts of Interior’s narrative, which is written in the style of an internal monologue – an amplification of the production’s metaphoric flipping the inside out. Writer and dramaturg Morgan Rose (the company’s co-Artistic Director) has worked hard to create something universal from so many varied experiences.
In its incorporation of text and spoken word, Interior is inherently meta, dipping only briefly into moments of flourished metaphor. Having seen many previous Rawcus productions, the use of so much spoken text marks an exciting new development for the company, offering a new take on its world of physical theatre and contemporary performance.Â
Directed by co-Artistic Director Katrina Cornwell, Interior is at its most beautiful in its moments of pure choreography, which left this reviewer wanting more of such passages. Choreographic sequences in the closing scenes in particular could be extended, as these make up some of the work’s most gripping moments.Â
Read: Theatre review: Hangmen, New Theatre
Underpinning the physical movement and spoken word is an emotive soundtrack composed and designed by Jethro Woodward, utilising both recorded sounds and live elements such as classical and jazz records in Interior’s second half.
The set – a large room filled with 13 chairs – though well designed and constructed, feels perhaps a little too literal. At first the lack of visual continuity between costumes and the set is jarring, but any predispositions against the aesthetic soon soften; instead, it seems that the aesthetics speak to the varied threads of the work – an amplification of the concept of the individual among a crowd.
Overall, Interior is another solid offering from one of Australia’s most respected contemporary performance ensembles – a production that evokes a deep sense of personal reflection and leaves its audience filled with a gorgeous warmth.
Interior
Created by Rawcus
Devised and performed by the Rawcus Ensemble: Clem Baade, Swann Biguet, Michael Buxton, Rachel Edward, Nilgun Guven, Jorlene Lim, Joshua Lynzaat, Paul Matley, Mike McEvoy, Isha Menon, Ryan New, Heath O’Loughlin, Kerryn Poke, and Louise Riisik
Director: Katrina Cornwell
Writer/Dramaturg: Morgan Rose
Composer/Sound Designer: Jethro Woodward
Set and Costume Designer: Nathan Burmeister
Lighting Designer: Richard Vabre
Stage Manager: Vivienne Poznanski
Production Manager: Flick
Executive Producer: Jacque Robinson
Assistant Director: Kate Cameron
Access Consultant: Francois Jacobs
Auslan Consultants: Danni Wright, Salomon Gerber
Captioning: Dora Abrahams
Assistant Stage Manager: Pari Balfour
Audio Description: David Maney from Vitae Veritas
Tickets: $20 – $40
The Substation, Newport, until 24 August 2024.
