Anytown

‘Anytown’ was written by WA’s multi-award winning Hellie Turner for Jedda Productions and Kick the Dog. This World First is being performed at The Blue Room Theatre main theatre, 53 James Street, Northbridge nightly until Saturday 28^th May, with all shows at 7.00 pm.
 
        It is dawn in a sleepy Australian outback town, the marble statue of flat-chested, Felicity Willis (Cathy Lally) in the square keeps an eye on the town and its 912 closely related inhabitants. In a rustic homestead, a middle-aged Scots man, Angus (Kingsley Judd), lies in bed and relieves himself as he dreams of a lone piper playing ‘The Dark Island’. Angus came to the town twenty years ago and has always lived with Charlie (Matt Penny) and his hot wife, Bella (Gaynor O’Hare). Although he has been made comfortable, he has always had a desire to leave this dead-end town but something strange is holding him back.
        It is six in the morning, well after the normal breakfast time, when Angus eventually staggers through to the rustic kitchen, decorated with its many shelves of pottery teapots. Charlie is preparing to go to the football game; Bella gives Angus his ‘pick me up’ for the day.
         The sixteen year old daughter, Dixie (Whitney Richards) is planning how she will win the local beauty contest before escaping the grip of this infernal town and its narrow gene pool, with all of the problems that come with inbreeding. Perhaps making money or wheedling valuables out of people will be her salvation. She has no conscience, she always gets what she wants, even from the pathetic village mute, Paulie (Craig Williams).
Will Dixie or Angus ever escape this closed community?
 

Hellie Turner has written many plays, all with a quality storyline and crammed with wonderful characters. Her awards list is probably second to none in WA, and here we see why she is so highly respected.
This very black, absurdist comedy, with a richly written dialogue, is in the style of ‘Under Milkwood’. Tightly written, with some marvellously descriptive passages, Hellie takes us behind the scenes to place where Dylan hinted at, but dared not venture. Although called ‘Anytown’ this could easily have been called ‘Everytown’ as we all know bizarre places like this. The structure of the writing is unique, with the mute speaking his mind, the actors admitting they are actors and deciding how they would next satisfy the audience. Realism and thoughts were all intermingled, there were flashbacks time, but the whole play was so very clearly and logically written that you were held in its grip for the whole 90 minutes, which just flew by. The demands on the cast were numerous but this talented and brave group became ‘the village’ eccentrics and carried us along.
 
Director, Janet Pettigrew, has the very strong cast working smoothly and as a dedicated team, each giving total depth to the characters that they are portraying. Janet has employed short bursts of video, by Cleighton Siva, which are well synchronised to the script and add to the understanding of isolation of the town and the narrow mindedness of the populace. The direction, whilst vividly depicting the madness within the town, leaves us in no doubt that all of us know people like this.
The complex and precise lighting design by Joe Lui was, as ever, excellent, accompanied by Matt Noble’s quality sound design.
The bucolic set (Michael Taylor) was exceptional; it covered several locations and was visually stunning.
This play is structured like a ‘whodunit?’ the audience being held in a tight grip, wanting to know more about this strange town and the inhabitants. It is at times very much ‘in your face’, but riveting. A quality production in every aspect. Most enjoyable.