Theatre503 until – 2 December. reviewed by Claire Roderick
4****
The UK premiere of Angela Betzien’s The Dark Room examines lives that are as far removed from the familiar sunkissed Australian soap operas as possible. Proving that “It’s grim up North” rings true in Australia as well, the action unfolds in a shabby motel room in the Northern Territory, where three different storylines unfold over a fractured timeline, eventually revealing the connections between the characters and the devastating history of abuse and brutality that link them inescapably together.
With minimal funding and facilities, youth worker Anni (Katy Brittain) must stay overnight in the motel with teenager Grace (Annabel Smith) until another safe place becomes available for the child. Covered in dirt and wearing a hood, Grace has been damaged beyond imagining by her chaotic and violent upbringing. Grace’s verbal duals with Anni are well constructed and authentic, with the girl trying to gain the upper hand any way she can, veering between puppyish enthusiasm, pitiful pleading, violent threats and sexualised behaviour. Her frustration as Anni avoids confrontation and doesn’t respond as she wants or expects is portrayed wonderfully.
Policeman Stephen (Tamlyn Henderson) and his pregnant wife Emma (Fiona Skinner) also stay in the room after the wedding of one of Stephen’s colleagues. Drunk and hoping to go back for more drinks with his mates, Stephen can’t understand Emma’s dislike of his workmates and the town.
The last occupant of the room is policeman Craig (Alasdair Craig), holed up after a suspicious death in custody, haunted by his actions and bullying Stephen into covering for him. His personal life and motivations for his work with the young lads in the town are touched upon with just enough familiar phrases that are trotted out to defend sex offenders to colour his panic and guilt with deeper meaning than simple bigotry.
The characters are all linked by the haunting presence of Joseph (Paul Adeyefa) who is disturbing and heart-breaking in a quiet counterpoint to Smith’s shocking portrayal of Grace’s raging anguish.
Director Audrey Sheffield handles the intertwining storylines expertly, with characters sharing lines in different timelines and carrying on with silent actions as the storylines unfold. At times it was tricky to keep focussed on Emma and Stephen, Smith was fascinating to observe as she picked and licked the walls and mirror as Grace.
This isn’t a bundle of laughs, but The Dark Room is a stylish and intriguing production taking an unflinching look at society’s failure to protect the most vulnerable.