Review: Lucy Kirkwood's Gripping Political Thriller CHIMERICA Ponders The Possibilities Of What Happened To One Of The 20th Century's Most Iconic Protesters, Tiananme

Saturday 4th March 2017, 7:30pm, Roslyn Packer Theatre, Walsh Bay

In a world where numerous societies are questioning their leaders' ability to represent them with humanity and compassion, Lucy Kirkwood's CHIMERICA shines a spotlight on one of the defining images of protest and courage of the 20th Century. Whilst this is a fictional work where the only truth is grounded in the iconic image of a lone man with shopping bags standing before a column of Tanks, Kip Williams' (Director) interpretation of Kirkwood's fabulous script makes for an engaging and entertaining piece of theatre that provokes thought and hope whilst also serving as a caution for a constantly evolving society.

The premise of Kirkwood's story is that the Joe Schofield (Mark Leonard Winter), a purely fictional American photo journalist, who, along with the six very real photographers, was able to document the iconic 'Tank Man' of the Tiananmen Square protests of the summer of 1989, wants to track down the unknown protestor 23 years later in 2012. Whilst Joe is searching in New York, his friend that suggested that the mystery man is still alive, Zhang Lin, is pursuing his own search for truths back in Beijing, highlighting how far China has or hasn't come in the intervening years.

This is a wonderfully detailed work and Williams' ensures that Kirkwood's focus on the people remains through his clean staging. Whilst one may have expected images to be projected across the expansive rear white wall given the inspiration for the work is the iconic piece of photo journalism that captivated the world, Williams has thankfully refrained from projections and technological tricks beyond the large turntable stage that enables the quick transitions between scenes dressed with economy by set designer David Fleischer, further highlighting the importance of people and the power they can hold. The pace of the work is maintained, moving smoothly with well-choreographed, ballet like transitions undertaken in Nick Schlieper's (lighting designer) shadows and reinforcing the order associated with the Chinese military and inconspicuous handoffs conducted in plain sight. The inclusion of a 20 strong ensemble of NIDA's Diploma of Musical Theatre students ensure the 'dance' flows smoothly whilst presenting the basis of compelling images, which the audience's imagination fills in.

Costume designer Renee Mulder presents a subtle transition between the 2012 and 1989 and a commonality between China and New York, acknowledging the influence of the West on the East and the possibility that China's students could easily be any from any Western city. The Sweat's sound design and composition helps define the different locations, with Chinese bells, gongs and stringed instruments contrasting with western brass jazz and orchestral, including Beethoven's imposing Ode To Joy and an ominous Star Spangled Banner.

Kirkwood's story includes many characters which has led to a number of performers doubling the roles that surround the central quartet of Joe, his colleague Mel Stanwyck (Brent Hill), his love interest Tessa Kendrick (Geraldine Hakewill) and his Chinese friend Zhang Lin (Jason Chong). These more fleeting characters are presented with an honesty despite their brevity, adding to the impact of the work. Williams' has ensured that the integrity of the Chinese voices is maintained by engaging Asian performers and Kirkwood's inclusion of Chinese dialogue ensures that the barriers and differences between the two cultures are clear.

As Joe, Mark Leonard Winter presents a compelling representation of a terrified young photographer understanding the magnitude of the images unfolding outside his hotel window and a more mature man wanting his work to still have an impact and mean something in an age when everyone has a camera included in their phone. He captures the earnestness of wanting to tell a story with a dogged determination that leads him to questionable behaviours, risking friendships and his career along the way whilst also representing the western greed and self-centred nature that is reviled in the East where the failure to return a favour is considered offensive.

Jason Chong ensures that Joe's Chinese friend Zhang Lin's story is equally important as Joe's search. He presents a man tormented by his past, losing himself in beer between teaching English as a Second Language classes. He presents an earnestness in his desire to expose the problems plaguing his country that the officials would prefer to whitewash whilst having a similar recklessness to Joe in his persistence despite the pain it causes him and the people around him. He captures Zhang Lin's spiralling paranoia that is woven between memories, played out by Charles Wu as his younger self and Jenny Wu as Liuli, Zhang Lin's young bride in 1989. The gravitas of the impression of a confident Chinese citizen is gradually eroded through the course of the story as Chong exposes Zhang Lin's fragility with heartbreaking rawness.

Brent Hill captures the brashness of the stereotypical obnoxious and loud American as Joe's friend and reporter Mel Stanwyck but also layers the portrayal with an unease and fear of rocking the boat, tied to his position as a divorcee paying maintenance to an ex-wife and children. Whist Joe has a wide eyed optimist beneath his New York cynicism; Mel is the opposite with more cynicism and less optimism, trying to be the voice of reason for Joe.

As the British market researcher Joe befriends on a flight to Beijing, Geraldine Hakewill presents Tessa Kendrick with a dismissiveness that expresses the caution that successful career women often build up in response where they struggle to be taken seriously. This confidence is countered with a raw vulnerability that sits below the bravado and gives Hakewill's performance a texture and relatability as she initially downplays and rebuffs Joe's advances and expresses a nervousness relating to a work presentation.

CHIMERICA, drawn from the amalgam of China and America and the mythical monster Chimera, is both a commentary on the relationship between the two global powers, American arrogance and Chinese goal of dominance at all costs. It challenges the audience to see things from a variety of perspectives, acknowledging that different vantage points result in seeing different stories. It questions the role of ethics and morality in obtaining what is believed to be the truth and whether the cost of unearthing those truths is worth it. This is a captivating story, detailed and complex, and beautifully expressed to allow the possibility of reality despite its fiction centred around historic fact.

CHIMERICA

Roslyn Packer Theatre, Walsh Bay

28 February - 1 April 2017