Broken

Broken is not the play you imagine it might be. The story concerns a woman who rolls her car on a highway in the Northern Territory, and the bond she forms with a mine worker who saves her life. But this sharply written and unusually staged production goes much deeper, capturing a profound sense of what it’s like to live in the remote outback and how three isolated characters struggle for a sense of connection and meaning.

The stage is abstract, like a sound stage, with sliding doors at the back and three microphones on stands. Three actors emerge, one by one, and use sound props like a glass, set of keys, tray of rice and rock shards to tell stories at the microphones through intersecting monologues.

The focus is on the words. Darwin writer Mary Anne Butler's script is a stunning achievement. She has refined it into short, sharp words that through their poetry create a stunning sense of place. One word or a short phrase sets a scene or evokes a feeling. The fractured form also reflects the characters’ broken worlds.

Ash, the injured woman, develops a deep bond with Ham, the man who stays with her until help arrives. There is a second woman, Mia, who at first is difficult to place but her connection with Ham is soon revealed.

Murphy’s staging is in many ways like a play reading – but it’s much more than that too. She has directed the actors to always perform, rather than just read the words, whether it be to themselves, each other or indeed the audience. Their three voices are set against James Brown’s evocative soundscape that creates a stunning sense of place but also discomfort. It is very effective.

And every moment of the acting is judged perfectly. Rarriwuy Hick creates a powerful central performance, giving Ash dignity and charisma. Ivan Donato throws everything at each line, landing perfectly each time. Sarah Enright makes you want to cry (as she herself does too). Their voices – so important in such a performance – are beautiful.

This is a broken world, with three broken people, that’s brought together in a fragmented and complex way. It’s not an easy (or indeed cheerful) work but it’s a thoroughly rewarding one. The subject matter is heavy but the poetic writing gives it lightness too.

This play’s awards are well deserved. It is original, not just in its subject but form too (it is beautifully short – only about an hour). Broken brings remote Australia onto the stage in the most unexpected, absorbing way.

Peter Gotting

Images (from top): Rarriwuy Hick, Sarah Enright, & Ivan Donato and Rarriwuy Hick. Photographer: Helen White.