TICK TICK BOOM is a new work by Melissa Lee Speyer and it is a play with a great deal going for it. The themes, characters and narrative are well woven into an entertaining drama with two richly written women characters, a plot which carries an intellectual mystery within it and a lightly lingering existentialism. But it is also a show which will benefit from genuine feedback in this, its first outing. Despite some slightly flawed direction, this production by subtlenuance is a satisfying watch particularly for the performances which display a lovely truth in the intimacy of this small venue.
Jodie and Clara are an odd couple of high schoolers somewhat trapped in Jodie’s room by their well-meaning mothers. They know each other from school, were friends when they lived on the same street as primary kids but it doesn’t appear that they now have anything in common, except the past. Jodie is suffering from a severe illness which is best managed in a confined space and Clara flits in and out of her tiny environs. Initially they are Fern and Cactus but their relationship to each other will change them both.
It’s actually a bit of a mystery, their relationship. Though Speyer gives voice to some of the reasons why they stay in each other’s world, what it is they get from the interactions endures as a head scratcher for almost the entire show. Both women do an excellent job of presenting the growth and change in each character and the individual journeys are understandable and interesting. .
Emily McKnight as Jodie plays the dark very well. Her little cruelties and binning of gifts is calculated hurt, informed by medicine and martyrdom. McKnight gives her character a surly and prickly attitude. Jodie appears to feel that she has a monopoly on suffering and her implied need for an audience is allied with an eye to a grand gesture. McKnight tightly controls the technical aspects of presenting an illness and keeps well away from the morbid but some relief from the character’s gruffness would better shade her creation. Her command of the monologues is unquestioningly good as she cultivates the audience empathy without overdone sentiment.
Rose Marel carries her character’s disturbing positivism with a sweet genuiness without reverting to the tropes of fashionista airhead. Surpisingly often, Clara is a listener, and Marel’s work is layered with complex responses which never lose sight of Clara’s surface vacancy and her ability not to allow things to affect her. Clara’s resilience is so well portrayed with a look and shake of the head, no matter how many times Jodie kicks her to the gutter. Technically her diction is terrific as Clara often builds up an excitable, gossipy, self-centred, one sided conversation that is very briskly presented.
Where the production did struggle was with the overall modulation of energy. The scene changes are quite long in places and despite being well conceived, there is a sameness of intent and of pace which requires the Clara character to do all the work to lift the scene after she enters. However there are several decisions by director Paul Gilchrist which do work commendably. The choice to keep the characters still, sitting and talking, rather than force movement upon them is quite effectively used in places where the staging is sharply resonant with the narrative elements. Similar trust in the cast is evident when the monologues are given an isolation and protection by the lighting to allow the grief to flow.
Some sensitive lighting from Liam O’Keefe is a skillful adjunct the emotional impact of the final scenes. The lighting for the ‘nightmare’ sequence was especially moving. Also the colour for one of the final changes was gentle and evocative, however the audio effect of distorted television in that change was rather loud and disturbed the beauty of the moment and the gravity of the situation.
But the other music is pretty cool! Janis!!! And Hanson? There are some lovely light moments built-in including a beautifully realised unco dance from Jodie and it was fun seeing a Tamagotchi… and we’ve all done that with Pringles. The teenager in these girls rings very true and there’s quite a joy in sharing in the turn of the century cultural artefacts with them. Ultimately though, there is a sadness in the uplift that permeates the finale, the new beginning of their friendship.
TICK TICK BOOM from subtlenuance [Facebook] continues at The Actor’s Pulse, Redfern until October 20 and it is a thought-provoking, heartwarming, well acted offering.