The Goat or Who is Sylvia?

I have always been fond of goat curry but after seeing The University of Adelaide Theatre Guild’s The Goat or Who is Sylvia? I may never touch it again!

The Goat or Who is Sylvia? is one of Edward Albee’s later plays as opposed to the well-known Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? which was written near the beginning of his career. Both centre on relationships and secrets, but The Goat delves even deeper into the psyche to places where the average person would never go.

The play is also about love and loss; the limits of our tolerance. Albee defends his subject matter in the following way - “Imagine what you can’t imagine. Imagine that, all of a sudden, you found yourself in love with a Martian, in love with something you can’t conceive of. I want everybody to be able to think about what they can’t imagine and what they have buried deep as being intolerable and insufferable.  I want them to just think freshly and newly about it.”

Martin is a 50-year-old prize-winning architect with a seemingly perfect life. He is also blessed with a devoted long-term marriage to Stevie. But Martin is also deeply troubled, having recently succumbed to a secret lust. He confesses to his best friend Ross he has fallen in love with a goat called Sylvia, a relationship that he sees as beautiful. Ross reacts with disgust, sharing the shocking news with Stevie in a letter. Then everything unravels as Martin’s family, reputation and career start to disintegrate.

It would be easy for this subject matter to create revulsion for the audience, but thanks to Albee’s clever use of humour to build the action until tension erupts, and director Matt Houston’s dedicated and detailed direction, we are left uneasy but fascinated. It is impossible to look away. Houston’s use of space complements the ‘theatre in the round’ approach that increases our sense of intimacy with the cast and play.

With a cast of four, there is no room for weakness in the cast. Rachel Burfield as Stevie commands the stage, taking us through the gamut of emotions. Her use of calmness before anger is faultless and breaks the tension until the final confrontation. She understands Albee and brings out his every subtlety.

Gary George is perfect as the tortured husband Martin. Even though his affair is repugnant to us, we still feel a sense of sympathy with his plight. George gives us Martin’s helplessness and despair, seemingly unable to choose between his two loves. His timing enables the play to move at the rapid pace demanded of this play.

Peter Davies as Ross shows us a man torn between his friendship with Martin and his disgust at Martin’s relationship with Sylvia. His letter to Stevie is instrumental in triggering the breakdown between Stevie and Martin. We are left to wonder if his letter was to repair the relationship or destroy it. While Davies’ portrayal was complex and well acted, he could have used humour to greater effect in the earlier scenes with Martin.

Benjamin Quirk’s acting debut as Billy ‘the kid’ is particularly commendable. Working with an experienced group of actors can be difficult for a first timer, but he matched his fellow actors and his scene with Martin and Stevie near the end of the play is moving. We can see, feel and sympathise with his pain as his parents are destroying each other. A compelling performance.

Matt Houston’s set design (complete with animal skin rugs) and Scott Cleggett’s lighting use the Little Theatre’s unique configuration to its fullest.

I felt the use of a soundscape at the beginning of the play and in the transitions would have further developed the tension.

The Goat or Who is Sylvia? is not a play for everyone, but for those who see it, it is an experience in theatre that will live with you for a long time. Well done!

Barry Hill

Note: this play contains language that may offend