Never Closer (Off the Ledge Theatre) - Review
DEIRDRE:
“Though you venture to strange and distant shores, may you always remember us, and never be too long away.”
In a choice someone should be given an award for, Canberra has been gifted a premiere of Grace Chapple's Never Closer in the wonderfully intimate, yet deceptively spacious, Courtyard Studio of the Canberra Theatre Centre. A play that seeks to discuss issues of the Irish Troubles through the lens of the social occurrences between friends and acquaintances in Northern Ireland, it calls for lesser luxuries typically afforded by a theatre, to its benefit; this is recognised well by the folks at Off the Ledge Theatre, who have staged a magnificent production of a engagingly intriguing piece.
Director Lachlan Houen has produced an intelligently considered and fascinatingly thought-provoking staging of this play. An emerging trend in Houen's work is that of strong focus to character interaction, and the emergence of a naturalised social environment, wherein characters are not only engaging, but incredibly understandable in their motivations. Houen also treats the subject matter delicately, ensuring the gradual creep-in of the Troubles as a subject matter in Chapple's script is given the proper reveal it deserves. With this proper sence of pacing, Houen is effective at communicating the context of the piece, even to those who may be unfamiliar with that history; anyone, no matter their level of knowledge on its subject matter, will be able to follow and resonate with the discussions had in this piece.
Pictured. from left to right: Jimmy (Joel Hrbek) and Conor (Nick Bisa) in Never Closer.
Credit: PHOTOX (Ben Appleton)
For this production, Houen is armed to the teeth with an exceptional cast of actors, who each give distinguished performances that contribute in spades to the production's success. Emily O'Mahoney as the emotionally charged and brazenly challenged Deidre is an emotional anchor and wrecking ball in equal measure, passionate in all the right and wrong ways as she is caught in the web of social misgivings as a reluctant aggressor more often than not. O'Mahoney's performance is one that is ultimately tragic, matched well by an equally tragic turn from Joel Hrbek, as the well meaning Jimmy. His earnest attempts to bridge the gaps between his fellows is sold with integrity by Hrbek, who gives a performance that could only be described as earnestness personified. Special should be given to Hrbek's musical contributions to the show; his playing and singing in crucial emotional moments in the show are one of its many highlights.
Tash Lyall gives a quietly brilliant turn as the passionate Niamh, offering a performance that is an excellent exercise in subtle strength, demonstrating the kind of battles had by those who struggle to come to grips with the trauma that can be gained from the Troubles; her desire to move beyond those struggles and pursue a life for herself is a quest given emotional weight in Lyall's performance. Lyall is supported well by Pippin Caroll as the woefully out-of-touch Englishman, Harry, stumbling his way through his interactions with the rest of the cast with an honesty that both absolves him of any cruel intent, while not taking away from the vitriol his presence stirs in the others.
Breanna Kelly as the bubbly Mary brings a much needed levity to the stage, both keeping the moments of emotional tension grounded, and elevating scenes of emotional bonding and reconciliation. She too has moments of dramatic seriousness when keeping some of the more unruly of tempers in check, exhibiting an almost matronly quality amongst the cast. Rounding out the performances and counteracting that levity, so as to ensure the central conversation remains emotionally affecting, Nick Bisa performs the emotional cataclysm of Conor's deeply conflicted history with the Troubles with remarkable dramatic depth. The emotional climax of the play is given a quiet, dreadful weight by Bisa’s dawning sense of dread, which gives way to an incredibly affective crescendo of urgent regret, realised with utter believability.
Houen’s production is well supported in its technical department. Sound designer and composer Marlēné Radice populates the soundscape with a somber score that draws out further the emotions of the piece without ever getting overbearing. The distant explosions that punctuate the show’s focal emotional moments are examples of the standout sound design at play; a key element I appreciated was the difference in relative distance between them, which differentiated each moment and further varied the emotions at play. Houen, assisted by lighting co-designer Joshua James, aids Radice with wonderful lighting design, ensuring the set feels homely in its more social moments, yet moody in its more intense/emotional scenes. Sophie Hope-White, Liah Naidoo, and Anna Lorenz have assembled an impressively homely and well-furnished set, dripping with homeliness and personality, adding to the sense that the audience is spectating a true domestic setting and its inhabitants. Lucy van Dooren adds to this set as prop master, ensuring the cast is never shy of intractable items when the script calls for them, while costume designer Winsome Ogilvie renders each character distinctly personified and dressed appropriately for the cool Irish weather.
With this production, and its previous work taken into account, Off the Ledge Theatre has established itself as a production company to watch with interest. Assembled under exceptional vision, with a cast of flawless performances, and simply marvellous creatives at work behind the scenes, Never Closer is a remarkably staged work of drama that grips from start to finish. One week remains; it would be a shame to miss such a unique piece of theatre.
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