THEATRE
True West
By Sam Shepard
Human Sacrifice Theatre
Chapel Off Chapel, 12 Little Chapel St, Prahran
Until July 30
Running Time 120 minutes
Reviewer Cameron Woodhead
Human Sacrifice Theatre is a new independent theatre company – the brainchild of Mark Diaco and Justin Hosking, two local actors who have recently returned to Melbourne after studying in the US. And if its first production is indicative, it could well become a power in the land.
In Sam Shepard’s True West, two brothers – Austin (Hosking) and Lee (Diaco) – are staying at their mother’s house in outer suburban LA.
Austin is a repressed, sensible writer, taking time out from his picket-fence existence to work on a screenplay that promises to make his name in Hollywood. Lee is the quintessential outsider, a thief and hustler blown in from the desert for no better reason, it seems, than to make Austin’s life hell.
Their simmering antagonism reaches boiling point when Lee attempts to steal Austin’s thunder, pitching his own outline to producer Saul Kimmer (Tim Ferris). As Lee begins to succeed at Austin’s expense, Austin takes a few leaves from his brother’s book – binge-drinking and liberating the neighbourhood toasters. By the time their mom (Jan Frazer) returns from Alaska, the house is a wreck, and the brothers are on the verge of killing each other.
Shepard’s tale of sibling rivalry is as much a clash between two American myths. And perhaps it’s because the characters are also avatars – of the Wild West and of the tamed one – that they tower like titans over his play.
Certainly, Lee and Austin are gift parts for younger actors, and both Diaco and Hosking are superb.
As Austin, Hosking puts in a fabulous rendition of an emasculated middle-class Californian pushed over the edge – the only quibble is that his physical performance needs work if he’s to appear more convincingly inebriated. As Lee, we might initially question Diaco’s mean, white-trash Southern drawl, but it’s magnificently sustained and tied to a portrayal that monsters the stage, exuding as much latent menace as lazy charm.
Tim Ferris as the unctuous Saul Kimmer provides finely observed comic relief, and Jan Frazer arrives like a fairy godmother walking into a nightmare, her lone anti-naturalistic performance emphasizing her dislocation – the West has no place for women.
Director Trent Baker gets brilliant things from his actors. True West leaves him lots of room to move – in this interpretation, the comedy is played down, emphasising the incipient violence that pervades the play.
The immediacy of the acting is enhanced by set designer Andrew Bellchambers’ eye for detail. He takes in all the appurtenances of a suburban kitchen, right down to mom’s initially flourishing maiden-hairs, transformed to withered husks by the end of the show.
This production of True West isn’t afraid to break a few plates, and even the toast smells delicious. In all, it’s a transporting, energizing piece of theatre. I look forward to seeing where these new kids on the block take us next.