The Kursk

The Kursk, a one-act play by Brisbane-based actor and playwright Sasha Janowicz, is a stage version of the events leading up to the tragic final fate for 118 Russian submariners on board the nuclear-powered Kursk in 2000. As Janowicz said when his play debuted at Brisbane’s Metro Arts theatre in 2007, he wrote the piece … “to tell the truth and express my grief about what happened to the Russian sailors." As a heavy drama it is an unusual and brave choice for a Community Theatre group. There are crucial sound and lighting effects, and the cast of 9 portray 18 characters. But hats off to the Villanova Players for taking up the challenge and doing so successfully.

Their shiny new theatre space in the central Brisbane suburb of Seven Hills has a lighting rig and sound system to cope with the technical details required to bring this play to life. With a sparse and mainly black stage setting, the soundscape and lighting effects come to the fore to immerse us in the world of submariners. Melanie Blizard (sound) and Tristan Holland (lighting) have done a brilliant job alongside Director Jill Cross and Stage Manager Veronique Ford to ensure a hitch-free performance.

Based on seven years of research, the script is clinical and factual. For me the first part of the play is too much about the machinations of the civil servants, the tedious ‘Yes, Comrade Admiral/Captain/Lieutenant’ and the commands back and forth. As Admiral Popov, Luke Monsour has his work cut out for him delivering stark and stressful lines while trying to keep the character’s emotions in check. Adding energy and pace, Liam Jarratt and Vivien Broadbent take on their multiple roles with ease. The scenes with newlyweds Olga and Dmitry Kolesnikov have to work very hard indeed to make us invest our emotion in the characters. But bright actors Emily McCormick and Steve Cameron do their best with a somewhat stilted script. As the Mother, Veronique Ford has the daunting task of representing the emotion of every grieving parent involved in the saga.

The scenes of the submersibles searching for the missing submarine are clever and really succeed in building up tension. Moreton King does a great job of bringing to life the stress of being commander of sub-standard equipment – the AS-34 submersible’s batteries don’t last long enough for a swift search operation. He also plays one of the affable crew of sailors, adding a tangible connection to their plight.

Most successful are the climactic scenes of the submariners on board the ill-fated vessel. This is where the play really works and the cast pull it off brilliantly. The sound effects and lighting do their bit to help you feel you are really there. The narrators in this play also help to make it work. The actors – Selina Kadell as the Woman in Black and Thomas Bishop as the Bosun – have a commanding stage presence and give great performances. Bishop’s coda is particularly heartfelt and well acted.

The costumes are crucial in bringing realism to the production. This production uses costumes from the original 2007 production. A host of other community members, businesses and groups are credited in the programme, highlighting what community theatre is best at achieving – bringing people together to get involved and benefit from the arts. The freshly refurbished Ron Hurley Theatre at Seven Hills is a wonderful space. Very rare for community venues, it has comfy seats and ample parking space! The Villanova Players have used the space brilliantly and shown they are up for a challenge – and let’s hope there are many more to come.

Beth Keehn

Photographer: Luke Monsour, Bulimba Studios