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Reviewed Tuesday 24th September 2013
David Mealor directed Angela Betzien's The Dark Room, set in a room in a three star motel in an unnamed location in Australia's Northern Territory, for Flying Penguin Productions. This was made possible with the help of the State Theatre Company of South Australia, through their Umbrella programme, particularly the company's Scenic Workshop, that provided a very impressive set, designed, along with the costumes, by the highly respected, Kathryn Sproul.
Mark Pennington's lighting design is a very important aspect in delineating times and locations as well as adding dramatic effect. Composer and sound designer, Quentin Grant, is also influential in establishing the atmosphere for this work. David Mealor has found a marvellous cast and has crafted a very powerful psychodrama that kept the audience hanging on every twist and turn.
A youth social worker, Anni, brings a client, the mentally fragile Grace, to the room for the night as it is too late to contact the authorities to place her into care. Anni is weary, but her hope for a quiet night evaporates as Grace begins a whole series of mind games, switching to and fro between being a victim, and bullying Anni, pushing her to the limits of her patience.
Staying over, after attending a very alcoholic wedding at which he was the best man, are police officers, Steve, and his pregnant wife, Emma. She wants to go to bed, but he wants to go out drinking all night with the other men. She is questioning their marriage and the arguments are not helping.
Craig, a senior police officer, is staying there as he needs to get away for a while to think, without any disturbances. He is thinking with the aid of alcohol.
Events are not always in chronological order and the one room on stage, in which all the action occurs, might not necessarily be the same room in the hotel. When Steve and Emma are arguing, Anni and Grace are still there but still and quiet, recovering from a traumatic interchange of their own.
As time passes we discover that they are not all strangers and that there are things in their lives that connect them, beyond the simple fact that three of are being police and one a social worker who, of course, often deals with the police. There are darker incidents that connect them that are revealed bit by bit.
Anni is played by Adelaide favourite, Tamara Lee, and Grace by recent graduate, Jordan Cowan. Audiences know Tamara Lee's work well and her fully realised and deeply emotional characterisation of Anni is another in a string of excellent performances that will have pleased her fans. Jordan Cowan was a very pleasant surprise to those of us seeing her work for the first time. She gave us a complex interpretation of the role, embracing all of the histrionics, the highs, the lows, the breakdowns and the dark moments of depression. They combine these two great individual performances in a marvellous series of interactions as the power play sees them fighting for dominance.
Patrick Graham and Anna Steen take the roles of Stephen and Emma in another fine pairing as the mismatched couple, her pregnant and wanting to settle down, and him still wanting to be "one of the boys" and living as though he was still single. These two establish a strong rapport that grows out of their superbly convincing characterisations.
Nicholas Garsden plays Craig, the senior officer who is corrupt, overbearing, and depressed. He invests this character with a sense of danger, presenting a man who is not to be crossed and who, for some yet unknown reason, no longer seems to care about life. Garsden give us all of this and more in his performance.
Taro Miller-Koncz appears briefly towards the end of the play as Joseph, a cross dressing young Aboriginal, one of those who "died in custody". He does this without playing a stereotype, but by offering a well rounded and three dimensional character.
This was another successful production from this company, known for tackling difficult plays such as this.
