Photo credit: David Cox.
Soon after the British settlement of Perth was established on the banks of Derbarl Yerrigan (now known as the Swan River) in 1829, the colony’s original cemetery was established on a nearby hillside. The first known burial – that of 22-year-old Private John Mitchell, a soldier of the 63rd Regiment – took place in January 1830, in the sandy soil overlooking the river.
It’s thought that there were at least three earlier burials on the site, though they were not documented, and the names of those interred are now lost to history.
Created by the members of the WA Youth Theatre Company (WAYTCo) and their Executive Producer, performance artist James Berlyn, in partnership with The National Trust of Western Australia, Rest is a vivid act of remembrance; a theatrical honouring of those who are buried in what is now called the East Perth Cemetery.
An immersive, promenade performance presented in the graveyard at night, the production is structured across four acts.
The first – a choose-your-own-adventure sequence – sees audience members seated individually with a number of the ensemble, who one by one share the stories of those buried under our feet – many of whose graves are now unmarked and at least a third of them infants.
The second act begins with a funeral cortege and features a marvellous moment of theatrical sleight of hand, in which a cloth-draped coffin is transformed into the semblance of a grave. Thereafter, more stories of the cemetery – a fire which burnt down the thickets of wooden crosses, whispered recriminations and pointed accusations – are shared by the company as they retreat across the hillside, culminating in a sequence performed beside the grave of the only Aboriginal person buried within the cemetery’s boundaries.
Act three features silent reverie, an opportunity to consider the vastness of the universe and our place in it, as well as the remembrances of a Noongar elder and a reminder that even in death, some of us are not considered equal.
The final act takes place in a small chapel, where the performers, draped in dark shrouds, whisper exhortations and shout their commitments – all in the name of honouring the dead.
Meticulously researched and confidently staged, this evocative and compelling production encourages us to remember those interred within the cemetery but also to remember those who were deemed unworthy of burial. It brings history to life in a sensitive and engaging manner while simultaneously asking audience members to reflect on our own place in the world and how we might hope to be remembered when we’re gone.
Performances by WAYTCo’s diverse ensemble are strong, engendering a strong sense of empathy during the storytelling and direct address sequences, with guests Monica Main and Rubeun Yorkshire providing grounding and gravitas. Music, black drapery and lighting are judiciously employed to add eerie highlights at opportune moments.
Sometimes unsettling, often beautiful, Rest is a potent, haunting and exemplary production which absolutely deserves a return season now that its original season has concluded. Let us hope that, for this work at least, there is indeed life after death.
4 stars: ★★★★
Rest
A WA Youth Theatre Company and The National Trust of WA production
Created & Directed by James Berlyn in collaboration with the WAYTCo Ensemble
Composed by Rachael Dease
Lighting by Lucy Birkinshaw
Performed by WAYTCo Ensemble supported by Monica Main and Rubeun Yorkshire
East Perth Cemetery as part of FRINGE WORLD
23 January – 16 February 2019
