Cleo's Stratos

Playwright and producer Peter Heavenheld, of Ukrainian-Hungarian ancestry, has cleverly intertwined the migrant experience and Greek mythology in his new play Cleo’s Stratos, now showing at Cracked Actor’s Theatre in Albert Park.

Known for its large Greek population, the suburb of Oakleigh is not usually the set for a Greek tragedy. During the pandemic, Phil Vitaliforos has recently retired from the tax office and dreams to build a replica of the world's greatest rally car to honour the race cars he would watch in Athens with his father when he was a young boy. His Greek wife is not impressed, neither is his daughter, an environmentalist who recently broke up with her boyfriend and came to visit her parents from interstate only to be stuck there because of lockdown – and she doesn’t have the best relationship with her dad.

Directed by Matthew Richard Walsh, there is a simplicity to Cleo’s Stratos that drew me in and kept me engaged throughout the duration of the play. I especially liked the set and the colourful cardboard car, created by Sarah Yeung, again simple, but impactful. This is bare bones theatre, no bells and whistles. This show was all about the text, and the text itself was enough. It did however, require concentration, as actors Ruth Katerelos and Paul Robertson spoke with heavy accents, which at times, made it difficult to understand. These are the not the natural speaking voices of the actors, I uncovered later, and that would be my main directorial criticism of the show, but despite this I still thought there was strong acting by all the actors in the show.

Flanked by two Greek Gods who narrated the world in which Phil Vitaliforos existed in, there were many political and social points raised in this play that had me pondering and reflecting. I am not a race car enthusiast, but the friend I brought along is, and he was really into this play, so I can safely say that this play would be of delight to the ethnic European male interested in cars.

There are many poignant moments in this play, and as a child of Greek-Cypriot migrants myself, I could relate, although at the same time, I felt that if the play were written by a Greek, there would have been more depth to some of the complexities which arose. But despite this, I really liked this play, it made me laugh and made me think – it was like a time capsule. An enjoyable night at the theatre for any race-car enthusiast, or anyone interested in the dynamics that play out within migrant families.

It was also my first visit to Cracked Actors Theatre, and I have to say, I am really excited by the space and what it can bring to the Australian independent theatre scene. As a producer and writer of theatre myself, I know how hard it is to find a space to stage a show, as there are more shows needing backing than venues in Melbourne can provide, and the pandemic created an overwhelming backlog. Scrolling through their program, and the types of shows they are staging, I would say that Cracked Actors is presenting works not readily seen in other, more established theatres, and that excites me.   

Koraly Dimitriadis

Photographer: David Swann

Koraly Dimitriadis is a writer, poet, performer, film and theatre maker and the author of Love and F—k Poems, Just Give Me The Pills and She’s Not Normal.