Like its adaptor Caleb Lewis, I first encountered Craig Davidson’s story collection RUST & BONE in 2007 when Picador published the volume here.
Like Caleb, I was arrested by Craig’s physical phrasing, sinewy prose and muscular narrative. On the page it was story telling of the first order and its adaptation to the stage has been handled with the same dexterity and finesse.
On the page, the collection of eight stories begins with pugilist, Eddie, educating us about the anatomy of the hand, how twenty-seven bones are embedded there, how all vertebrates share a similar set, how some primates got more – gorilla’s thirty-two.
On the stage, we get the same education and the play ends with Eddie “kitchen sinking the bastard, and, for a brilliant split second in the centre of that darkening ring, we meet.” And this is how the first story on the page concludes. Caleb Lewis’ genius is to integrate two other stories into this centrepiece in a seamless three part harmony, a symphony of stories, a concert of character, a melody of plot.
Distilling three stories into a fluid theatrical whole, Eddie’s story is juxtaposed by James’ hideous history of hound hustling, someone who makes money training dogs to fight, who takes from the paw to make himself rich, and Ben, a marine park mammal wrangler rendered legless after an encounter with a killer whale.
A triumphant trio of thesps gives this production blood, bone, sweat, sinew and spittle.
Sam Smith as Eddie, bearded brawn and more bravado than brain, quick of hand but not fleet of foot, failed fighter and flawed hero takes us through a trajectory of tragedy palpable as a punch.
Renato Musolino as James, fight dog trainer whose anger, disappointment and frustration at shooting blanks is channeled into the charnel challenge of canine carnage. Musolino attacks the role like a mastiff, a slathering, visceral performance.
Wade Briggs as Ben, starting the piece with slim lined youthful swagger, a beauty on a beast for which his leg became a feast, deftly navigates the journey of coming to terms with dismemberment, looking to find meaning in a limbless limbo.
Each of these three fine thesps also create cameo characters who cut, thrust and colour the trio of stories and illustrate just what a well oiled ensemble this troupe is.
Director Corey McMahon’s subtle direction simmers through the production from performance to production values, summoning sterling work from set and costume designer Michael Hankin, lighting designer Teegan Lee, and composer/sound designer Nate Edmondson.
Another feather in the cap of producers Peter Gahan and Luke Rogers, of Stories Like These, RUST & BONE is that marvellous alchemy from page to stage which will surely make audiences want to search out the source material. With five stories untouched from the original publication, a sequel may well be in the offing and, on the standard of this production, would be in no better hands.
RUST AND BONE opened at the SBW Stables Theatre, 10 Nimrod Street, Kings Cross on Friday 11th January and runs until Saturday 2nd February, 2013.
© Richard Cotter
Tags: Sydney Theatre Reviews- RUST AND BONE, Caleb Lewis, Craig Davidson, Corey McMahon, Michael Hankin, Teegan Lee, Nate Edmondson, Wade Briggs, Renato Musolino, Sam Smith, Sydney Arts Guide, Richard Cotter