Travelling North by David Williamson. Presented by Christine Harris and HIT Productions, directed by Bruce Myles. Tuggeranong Arts Centre, October 20 and 21.
After 30 years this play, and particularly this production, travels well. Myles' direction suits this small-scale venue, bringing out qualities of character and personal relationships more successfully than I remember from early productions on larger stages where Williamson's one-liners were funny but less engaging.
Perhaps, too, Williamson, still in his thirties when he wrote the play, focussed on his wit, while writing a study of a later-life love affair which now resonates with an audience like me - and him - in our sixties. Now the comic lines contrast with and highlight the seriousness of weaknesses the older couple see in themselves when they reflect on their lives, and when we see the failed states of their childrens' marriages.
All the cast - Sandy Gore (Frances), Terence Donovan (Frank), Shelly Lauman and Kate Cole (Frances' daughters Sophie and Helen), Elizabeth Slattery (Frank's daughter Joan), Ross Thompson (neighbour Freddy) and Lewis Fiander (Frank's doctor Saul) - work as a team of equals in creating a complex emotional interplay which is a drama of considerable depth. The political and gender issues which generated almost gratuitous laughs three decades ago are now placed in context as aspects of the personal histories of these characters. The play, set in 1972 as the Vietnam War still dragged on and Gough Whitlam was about to win government, is tied to its time but is not dated. The characters' histories are now part of all of our history.
An interesting sidelight on the play is that it makes us realise how much communication has changed since the internet has become essential to our lives. Yet the fundamentals of personal relationships stay the same.
The audience's sustained applause on opening night expressed our appreciation not only for the skills of the director and actors but, I think, for a production which brought the best out of Williamson. Very satisfying.
Tuggeranong Arts Centre should be congratulated for engaging HIT productions, who plan a further tour of Travelling North in 2009. If you have missed it this time around, try to catch it next time.
©Frank McKone, Canberra
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