MICHAEL GOW’S ‘AWAY’ @ THE BONDI PAVILION

It’s the authenticity of the characters and situations which is the hallmark of Michael Gow’s classic play AWAY. The play is well served in this production by Lambert House Enterprises with good, clear direction by Nicholas Christo.

Gow’s play charts the journeys of three families, connected by one school, who go away on summer vacation. Rather than getting away from it all, each family comes face to face with their issues.

Berynn Schwerdt plays school headmaster Roy who has no great expectations about his holiday as his wife Coral, played by Veronica Lang, is still ridden with grief over the death of their son in the Vietnam War. Coral’s behaviour is increasingly erratic and good natured, conservative Roy finds it hard to take. The scenes between them are played in a very heartfelt way, with Roy getting ever closer to having his wife hospitalised.  

Recently immigrated British couple Vic, played by Beth Daly, and Harry played by Elliot Weston, are looking forward to going away and are very proud of their son Tom’s performance as Puck in the end of the year Shakespeare play. Their holiday has a sour note to it as their son has cancer. They want to make the holiday as special as they can for him.  Daly’s portrayal of Vic depicts a kindly, understated woman with Weston depicting a big hearted man. My favourite scenes featuring Vic and Harry are after interval when they take the other couple, Gwen and Jim aside, and tell them about their son’s illness.   

David Simes gives a high energy, sparky, mercurial performance in the pivotal role of Tom/Puck, whose positive approach is an inspiration. Simes has plenty of good scenes including his painful, pushy scene with  Meg on the beach and the play’s final scene at amateur night where, with the help of Coral, he lets his imagination run wild.

Norah George is a stand-out as the very dour, intolerant, officious Gwen who has an uncompromising, tough approach to life. She has grown up on struggle street, and is always about to does herself up with more Bex. One of the play’s best scenes takes place  shortly after interval with her standing centre stage, very defiantly, wearing dark glasses, upset that she has to put up with the other couple.

Wil Usic plays her dutiful husband Jim. Whilst his wife upsets him with her uptight behaviour, he also respects her for her uncompromising approach to life. She reminds him of Scarlett O’Hara in “Gone With The Wind’ standing up and saying, ‘we will never go hungry again’.

Meg Clarke plays their daughter Meg who has reached the age where she is standing up to her mother’s officiousness and intolerance, despite her father trying to calm her down. The clashes between mother and daughter are worthy stoushes. Meg has a go at her mum for leaving her husband’s Christmas presents behind when packing the car with her mum having no comeback.

James Wright does well in his two roles playing Rick, a guy on his honeymoon whom Coral takes a sheen to, and he also plays the high spirited emcee at the end of show amateur night where Tom and Coral put on a fun fantasy skit.

Puck and his fellow sprites make regular appearances through the play which works well with the non-naturalistic style of the play.

Emma Clark’s set and costume design were effective. It was a ‘busy’ stage with plenty of cushions, plants, rugs, ladders and most of all suitcases. The design had a quite deliberate stage  within a stage feel to it, with an ‘internal’ proscenium arch. More prominent in the second half, at the back of the stage there was also a large paling fence poster advertisement with a beach setting incorporating an advert for Bex.

Clark’s costumes were of the period- the late sixties- and were character appropriate.

There was good use of the whole stage area with, as well, actors sometimes making use of the aisles, making unusual entrances, and ‘playing’ from the audience.

There were some good moments in Lyndon Buckley’s lighting design with the actors faces poignantly lit.

Whilst the play had its dark themes there was also plenty of humour, playfulness and vitality in this production. The scene with the very ocker campers giving Harry and Vic a  hard time was very funny.

Gow cleverly bookends his play, beginning with the close of a school year and ending with the start of another school year, and the study of another Shakespeare play.

Sadly, this impressive, quality production had only a brief season at the Bondi Pavilion, playing from the 4th to the 7th July. On the school syllabus, many students took the opportunity to see this classic Australian work well performed.