In time for Mardi Gras, the Griffin Theatre presents Sydney playwright, Donna Abela’s award-winning play, Jump for Jordan. It is more than a ‘coming out’ play. It depicts the experience of being ‘caught between two cultures’ common to second-generation Australians.
An archaeology student, Sophie leaves home at 21 unmarried, shaming her traditional Jordanian mother. She moves in with fellow archaeology student, Sam, her Aussie girlfriend. Six years later, losing sleep, and petrified of the judgement of her visiting ‘mad Arab’ Aunty Azza, Sophie is forced to lie about her life, her career and the existence of Sam. She may be also lying to herself.
The play with strong archaeological references, shows layers of reality, distorted memory, projection and conversing with the living and the dead. The play slides through switching layers of past and present, farce and fantasy, and drama as Sophie tries to unravel her own history before it unravels her. She is still trying to piece together those broken bits of identity buried in the layers. Must she escape the present to find the past, or merely delve deeper?
The play presents many life dilemmas. Azza comments to Mara, the mother : “You were ambushed by history. Most people are.” Would we emerge from the rubble unscathed – would we, unlike Mara, “choose to not sit down and rot”?
With six characters the play is able to show the range of adaptations to a new culture and that culture’s reflection in one who is herself a member of a minority. All characters, including the dead Palestinian father, Sahir, are presented as strong and confident and all are believably acted.
Alice Ansara as Sophie easily plays the confused young Arab-Australian woman who has underlying determination. The lightest moments in the play are her talks with her dead father, as she searches for love and happiness. His role of the rejected optimist sustains these lighter notes. Only he and Sam initiate and show any demonstrable love.
Doris Younane plays the angst-ridden mother, Mara suitably melodramatically with occasional attempts to ‘tone it down’. Sheridan Harbridge as Loren, the younger sister, who has conformed to the ‘old ways’, speaks less, potentially suppressing more, including her youth. Anna Houston plays Sam, the Aussie lesbian lover. She plays the parent teaching role and is gentle. Sam doesn’t understand the cross-cultural conflicts and remains young, uncomplicated and beautiful.
The first time we see Aunty Azza she is shouting and dressed in an Arab commando uniform. This part is seemingly incongruous; it is full of fight and fury. This contrasts with her regular aunt role. Camilla Ah Kin is able to sustain the ‘I don’t speak English’ (whilst speaking English for the audience) role convincingly.
Iain Sinclair directed the play well particularly in the positioning of the actors, their display of contrasting emotions and working around the set.
The Stables theatre is an intimate theatre suitable for family dramas such as this. The set is a combination of part of a Western Suburbs house and the sands of an ancient Arab land. The house was proudly built by Sahir in his new land. The simplicity of the set works well except as there are no set changes, temporal changes in the story become confusing.
Some audience members may feel the play tries to address too many themes and that it could be streamlined. Whilst there may be argument for that, the multi-thematic approach does demand audience constant attention and adds a ‘richness of life’ touch. It is the switches in time, location and present, living and dead people that keeps the audience being swept along in this play, replete with the vitality of young adulthood overcoming ancient barriers.
JUMP FOR JORDAN opened at the SBW Stables Theatre, 10 Nimrod Street, Kings Cross on Wednesday 10th February and is running until Saturday 29th March. The production then moves to Wollongong for a short season at the Illawarra Performing Arts Centre between the 2nd and the 5th April.