Review: Hope For A Brighter Future And The American Dream Are Threatened in RUSSIAN TRANSPORT

Wednesday 13th March 2019, 7:30pm, Eternity Playhouse

A different immigrant story unfolds in Erika Sheffer's domestic drama RUSSIAN TRANSPORT. Director Joseph Uchitel brings the New York playwright's first work to the Australian stage for a night of suspense and mystery in a moral thriller

The premise of the work is that a migrant Russian Jewish family, who fled Russia about 17 or 18 years ago when their eldest child was an infant, are currently settled in Sheepshead Bay Brooklyn but money troubles hamper their success and fully achieving the American Dream. Father Misha (Berynn Schwerdt) runs a car dispatch business next door to the family's two storey home whilst mother Diana (Rebecca Rocheford Davies) tries to reign in their two children. The 19-year-old Alex (Ryan Carter) wants independence away from having to hand over his wages from his two jobs, selling phones at Verizon and driving a car for Misha, all done around his university studies. The 14-year-old Mira (Hayley Sullivan) is a typical rebellious teenager wanting to spend time with friends rather than helping her mother in the kitchen. She too wants to get away from the family but more for reasons of travel, dreaming of the ability to afford school study trips and overseas vacations. The whole family is trying to assimilate but there are still vestiges of the old-world behaviors and sensibilities that remain. Their seemingly normal lives are upturned by the arrival of Diana's brother Boris (Nathan Sapsford), a mysterious but charismatic character doted on by his big sister and an object of fascination for his niece and nephew, but his stay is extended and his methods of making ends meet in the big city is suspicious.

Anna Gardiner has created a detailed expression of a two-story house in the high space of Eternity Playhouse. The living areas of the home dominate the floor space with Mira's simple bedroom presented as a mezzanine balcony. A basic commercial desk forms the car dispatch office to the right of the stage and a car is represented with bumper and lights and front seats. Gardiner's costuming selection is relatively straightforward as a representation of an average family in the 21's century. Martin Kinnane's lighting helps draw focus on the multi scene stage whilst also helping represent the times of day that the events take place, from night drives from the airport to the sunlight creeping into the loungeroom in the morning.

The stand out performances come from Sullivan and Carter as the next generation trying to deal with adults who have placed money over morality and compassion. Sullivan captures the awkward teen perfectly, expressing the desperate desire to be like the other kids at school and needing her own space, particularly when she is unceremoniously turfed out of her bedroom for her visiting uncle. The expression of the smart teen's realization that her uncle isn't as good as she imagined conveys the shift to fear and distrust of everyone but her father, the only other relatively innocent character of the piece. Carter conveys the young man's greed and also his slower comprehension of what his uncle's errands out to the airport are really about.

Sapsford suitably shifts from a seemingly innocent naive relative happy to be reunited with his sister and her family to a dangerous darkness as his secrets are unearthed. Sheffer has created Diana as an abrupt and insulting and Rocheford Davies has built on this to present an unfeeling mother more focused on money and keeping her brother happy rather than considering her own children's needs. Whilst Diana is unlikable throughout, Schwerdt's portrayal of Misha ensures that, at least for part of the story, the father is seen as a victim of the toxic behaviors Boris has bought into the house.

The work is billed as a comedy and a thriller and for some moments the humor is easily upheld but for other moments the work has a terrible darkness and abrasiveness which can tend to the laughter being restrained. In an effort to assimilate, the family, particularly Misha and Diana have taken to swearing and vulgarity which presents as warning bells for the future story as the parental sensitivities and care seem to be lacking, particularly from Diana. Perhaps too drawn out, RUSSIAN TRANSPORT is a generally interesting story but not a terribly groundbreaking one. In a world where immigration is a hot topic, it presents a possibility that probably wouldn't help the argument for immigration but none the less paints a picture of a dangerous illicit trade in flesh that has been going on for years in various forms.

https://www.darlinghursttheatre.com/whats-on/russian-transport