Patricia Cornelius and Susie Dee are undoubtedly, and deservedly, one of the most dependable and venerable writing/directing teams working in the country when it comes to hand on the heart, passionate and com-passionate pieces of theatre, yet Truth is a bit of a departure for the pair. Cornelius has written about real life people before – My Sister Jill was semi-autobiographical – but Truth revolves around the larger than (real) life character of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, while also covering some of the stories of fellow whistleblowers Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden.
Talking about the work with ABC Radio National recently, the playwright said, “It may be a swansong to be able to write something big and meaty and political and in your face.” Of the subject matter’s appeal, she added, “It’s fantastic to look at one of our own in the theatre … we rarely deal with political figures … and I love the idea of people who want to change the world. Who doesn’t?” And she’s right. Outside of Joanna Murray-Smith’s Julia, it is a rarity to see real life Australian politically engaged figures depicted on our stages.
Cornelius and Dee, however, have a different approach to Murray-Smith and Sarah Goodes (the director of Julia), although both plays spend most of their running time breaking the fourth wall, addressing the audience directly. A major difference is that Truth does this multiplied, in that it uses an ensemble of five actors of different genders to tell the story. At any given moment each one may be Assange or a narrator commenting on his life story or one of the other figures that come into the story, including Snowden, Manning and filmmaker Laura Poitras.
Leaning into strong and physically bold choreographed movements, the acting style is largely declamatory, with fists raised at appropriate moments, a visual reminder of Banksy’s bouquet-throwing masked protestor (without the flowers) crossing the stage every so often, and, throughout, storytelling that errs on the side of didacticism and moral outrage.
The simple and serviceable set comprises a mostly bare stage, with five movable desks/desktop computers/filing cabinets at the side, a row of microphones in the footlights position and hurricane fencing with security cameras attached along the back. Over that is a walkway and above that a screen – used alternately for flashing weighty and powerful words at the audience, different angles of the actors (captured on the security cameras) or, in one very memorable and disturbing sequence, the actual grainy footage published by WikiLeaks showing a US helicopter attack on a group in a Baghdad street, in which at least a dozen people are killed.
There are other intentionally confronting scenes, including one in which trans woman Manning, appropriately played by trans actor Eva Rees, is stripped naked and left to stand in the middle of a square spotlight representing a tiny cell, while another member of the ensemble describes her treatment in prison.
If you’ve seen Benedict Cumberbatch in The Fifth Estate (2013), Oliver Stone’s Snowden (2016) or, closer to home, Robert Connolly’s 2012 film Underground: The Julian Assange Story, much of the material, and certainly events in Assange’s earlier life may be familiar, but plenty has happened to him in the last 12 years and Cornelius has tried to keep as up-to-date as possible. Clearly events were still playing out as she was writing the script.
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It has to be said that this is not the most even-handed portrayal of the man. Although the sexual assault charges Assange faced in Sweden are covered, they are done so through a very particular lens. Cornelius’ take is that, yes, those accusations were made, but erroneously so. And Assange’s chief crime is that he simply doesn’t like wearing condoms and can be somewhat duplicitous about that.
But, again, Cornelius and Dee aren’t making any apologies about this approach – Assange is portrayed here as an inspiration – nothing more, nothing less – someone who wants to change the world and speak truth to power. And someone who isn’t afraid to stand up for their beliefs and for what they see as morally imperative. In the current and unfolding geopolitical landscape, Cornelius may be saying, we’re going to need those people more than ever. As she’s always been one of them, let’s hope that Truth is really not a swansong.
Truth, Malthouse, Merlyn Theatre
Writer: Patricia Cornelius
Director: Susie Dee
Set and Costume Designer: Matilda Woodroofe
Lighting Designer: Paul Jackson
Composer and Sound Designer: Kelly Ryall
Video Designer: Meri Blazevski
Video Associate: Justin Gardam
Assistant Lighting Designer: Spencer Herd
Intimacy Coordinator: Bayley Turner
Movement Consultant: Lyndall Grant
Scenic Art: Patrick Jones
Directing Intern: Karina White
AV Intern: Amy Todd
Ensemble: Emily Havea, Tomáš Kantor, James O’Connell, Eva Rees, Eva Seymour
Tickets: $50-90
Truth will be performed at Merlyn Theatre, Malthouse, Sturt Street Melbourne until 8 March 2025.
