Hell’s Canyon

Up many unmarked, outside steps in the heart of Newtown is this ‘home to Sydney’s independent theatre makers’. In the upstairs ballroom of the old School of Arts a small crowd sits in awed silence as Emily Sheehan’s award-winning short play unfolds. If this is an example of 505 Theatre’s ‘warm, strange, exceptional theatre’, then bring it on, though perhaps with less steps to get there.

Hell’s Canyon features two 17-year-olds, Caitlin and Oscar, who you are unlikely to meet via the Australian Theatre for Young People. Oscar runs to meet Caitlin with her text message — ‘Wanna fuck?' — burning on his phone. Of course things are not so simple. It’s their first contact in six months of school, and tomorrow is mocks.

Looking every bit real are Isabelle Ford (Caitlin) and Conor Leach (Oscar). He is reedy and intelligent, unused to what’s happening to him, but sort of ready for whatever action comes his way. She is small and pugnacious, bearing the weight of past indiscretions, a new tattoo on her thigh throbbing madly.

Together, under the taut direction of Katie Cawthorne, they form a strong team as they steal a truck and arrive at a ghastly Bed & Breakfast where the flush doesn’t work and rats have tried to chew through the TV cable. Here they confront the hard facts of their lives, especially Caitlin, who soon arrives at breaking point.

While the naturalistic dialogue between the two is always spot-on, there’s a strand of mystical, fantastic talk from Caitlin that is uncomfortable and challenging.

Tyler Ray Hawkins gets the credit for the set design, which includes some impressive special effects, including blood that drips from a mural and bubbles that descend on the audience.

Frank Hatherley