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Scenes from a Separation
Directed by: Kris Weber Essendon Theatre Company
Reviewed by: Christine Damain
Written by Andrew Bovell and Hannie Rayson, Scenes from a Separation is an Australian play which looks at the complexities of contemporary relationships.
Matthew Molyneux, head of a publishing company, and writer Nina are a couple in their late 30's whose marriage is in trouble. With Matthew a dedicated workaholic and Nina dissatisfied with her life and questioning her sense of worth, tensions come to a head when Nina is commissioned by Matthew to write a biography of millionaire Lawrence Clifford with whom she becomes romantically involved.
This play had a curious structure with the story unfolding in fragments. Scenes move backwards and forwards through time showing the various stages of the couple's breakdown from their differing perspectives: Act I is written by Bovell and tells Matthew's story while Act II is written by Rayson and tells Nina's.
In the role of Matthew Molyneux, Peter Prenga was impressive. With his powerfully used voice, facial expressions and body language, Prenga succeeded in conveying both the arrogance and vulnerability that defined this character. As Nina, Dawn Hinrichsen was a little too acrimonious, making her an overly harsh and ultimately unsympathetic character. Playing Siobhan the young, hot-headed sub-editor with whom Matthew has an affair, Carolyn Cusack gave a strong performance, helping to create a good chemistry between Siobhan and Matthew, although she tended to be too strident during their frequent arguments.
As Darcy, Matthew's business partner and philandering younger brother, Jon Michael was likeable and appropriately cheeky. Director Kris Weber doubled as Sarah, Nina's unmarried sister, giving a natural, humorous performance while Sharon Monaghan was very well cast as Margaret the family matriarch. As millionaire Lawrence Clifford, Ian Cairncross was much too understated, failing to provide any reason why a biography of this character was even contemplated.
Set variously at the publishing company and the couple's town and beach houses, the set was both spacious and visually appealing. However, there seemed to be a blurring of locations with the outdoor furniture foremost on the stage seeming to serve multiple uses. Although this had an obvious space advantage, it did make it difficult to differentiate one location from another. This was a complex, thought provoking play which demanded a lot from both the actors and the audience. However, at almost 3 hours long it was quite a task to stay engaged with the action.
Despite these criticisms, a good cast and good direction worked, for the most part, to ensure audience interest.
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