Sue Smith’s new play MACHU PICCHU references a passage from Dante’s Divine Comedy:-
‘In the middle of the journey of our life
I found myself astray in a dark wood
where the straight road had been lost sight of.
How hard it is to say what it was like
in the thick of thickets, in a wood so dense and gnarled,
the very thought of it renews my panic.’
Long married couple Gabby and Paul find themselves astray in a dark wood when they have a serious car accident which sees Paul suffer serious spinal injuries which mean that he will never be able to walk again. Smith’s play charts the couple’s very difficult journey, with the help of their daughter, their friends, and the medical staff, in coming to some form of acceptance of this harsh new reality in their lives.
This is a tough subject for a play. We in the audience know only too well that life can deal some very tough blows. Smith does not hold back in her approach to the play. It is raw, confronting and visceral. There are scenes intimating gross bodily malfunction that are difficult to watch. The stage action is authentic, relentless, hard going. Gabby and Paul face a MACHU PICCHU. Will it defeat them, or will they succeed in climbing it?!
This is a play where theatregoers are likely to find a lot of ‘stuff’ coming up for them whilst they watch the play. It was certainly the case for me. Events from my own life, and from the lives of people I’ve known…a reminder/ a prompt of those times when people’s lives were dramatically turned around. The Bard described it succinctly: ‘The thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to.’
Geordie Brookman’s premiere production brings Smith’s dark, all too real world to life. His creative team headlined by designer Jonanthon Oxlade, lighting man Nigel Levings, composer Alan John and animator Morgan Read create the world for the cast which they inhabit with clear, uncompromising performances from the leads Lisa McCune and Darren Gilshenan to the supporting cast that includes Elena Carapetis, Luke Joslin, Annabel Matheson and Renato Musolino.
A joint Sydney Theatre Company and State Theatre Company Of South Australia production,Sue Smith’s MACHU PICCHU is playing Wharf 1, Sydney Theatre Company until the 9th April. Performance times are Tuesdays to Saturdays at 8pm, Mondays at 6.30pm, Wednesdays at 1pm, and Saturdays at 2pm.