4000 Miles

4000 Miles
By Amy Herzog. Directed by Anthony Skuse. A Critical Stages, Mophead and Catnip Production. The Q, Queanbeyan, February 11 – 13, 2016, and touring.

This intense and moving play was a finalist for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and it is to the Q Theatre’s credit that they secured this production for a short season. The quality of the acting complements the emotionally-compelling quality of the play, making time pass too quickly.

Leo, played by Stephen Multari, is 21 years old and has turned up unexpectedly at his grandmother’s apartment in Manhattan after cycling from the West Coast to the East Coast. His grandmother Vera, played by Diana McLean, allows him to stay, and what was just an overnight stay turns into weeks. While two very different people learn to share space together, Vera also won’t allow Leo to hide the causes of his emotional pain behind bravado.

Aileen Huynh plays the role of Leo’s sister as well as a young woman who Leo meets in a bar. Her transformation between is wonderful. Leo’s ex-girlfriend, Bec, is played by Eloise Snape and her emotional changes are believable and true.

The set design evokes homeliness and times of day and changes of mood are brought into sharp relief by the good lighting design by Sara Swersky. Sound design and composition by Marty Jamieson show that much expertise and thought has been put into it. By keeping nearly all the cast on stage at all times, with Huynh and Snape fetching and carrying props for the two main characters, the warmth of the production is accentuated.

Rachel McGrath-Kerr

Tour Details

The Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre (Feb 11- 13)

Cessnock Performing Arts Centre (Feb 16)

Orange Civic Theatre (Feb 18)

Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre (Feb 20)

Laycock Street Theatre, Gosford (Feb 23)

Wagga Wagga Civic Theatre (Feb 27)

Geelong Performing Arts Centre (March 2 - 5)

Westside Performing Arts Centre, Shepparton (March 8)

Hawthorn Arts Centre (March 10)

Whitehorse Centre, Nunawading (March 11 - 12)

Hamilton Arts Centre (March 16)

Her Majesty's Theatre, Ballarat (March 18 - 19)

Frankston Arts Centre (March 22)

Kingston Arts Centre, Parkdale (March 23)

Clocktower, Moonee Ponds (March 24)

Burrinja Cultural Centre, Upwey (March 31)

Colac Otway Performing Arts Centre (April 2)

Merrigong Theatre Company, Wollongong (April 6 - 9)

Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs (April 15 - 16)

Darwin Entertainment Centre (April 19 - 20)

Coolum Civic Centre, Sunshine Coast (April 23)

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