Marble

First time director Rodney van Groningen has assembled a stellar cast for the West Australian premiere of Marina Carr’s relationship drama, Marble, produced by Darlington Theatre Players.

Art has a vivid dream about making love to his best friend’s wife, on the same night that she has the exact same dream about Art. Marble is an intense drama about two couples, that at times can be quite bleak.

Joe Isaia gives a strong and believable performance as Art, and his long term relationship with Ben (a very solid and compelling performance by Peter Clark) - is tangible, as are all the relationships in this web. Ben’s wife Catherine spends much of the show on the edge, and is portrayed with great depth by Krysia Wiecheki. Kylie Isaia gives a beautifully layered performance as Anne, whose struggle with day to day life is evident.

The set is well thought out, symbolically as grey as the lives and outlook of the characters, but at the rear we can just make out the outline of the gorgeous marble room of Catherine and Art’s shared dream - just visible, yet out of reach. Scene changes are facilitated behind a large sheet of marble that moves (almost) steadily across the stage - it is clever and effective, but also slows the transitions.

Nyree Hughes gives us very well chosen costumes - with Catherine's Grecian Aphrodite-like dress especially striking. Shelly Miller’s lighting design is effective - especially the use of the scrim, and Michèle Acott creates an organic sound scape.

Not the show to see if you are anxious, depressed or are having marital issues, but a good showcase of strong performances and a promising debut director.

Kimberley Shaw