Gulls

Aching humanity, laced with bittersweet, wry wit flows through Susan Stapleton’s moving production of Robert Hewett’s Gulls.

In the space of a handful of productions, the Guild Theatre has now staged two powerful Australian plays featuring carers, in this case a sister caring for her brother.

Bill Clements, now an adult, suffered a catastrophic brain injury in a car crash in his youth which has left him lucid mentally, yet unable to communicate verbally with those around him.

Now the two adult siblings share a house by the beach, surrounded by the gulls which fascinate Bill.

Despite Bill’s communication barrier, throughout this production the familial bond with his sister Frances is palpable, with their poignant relationship evident throughout as a subtext, transcending words with touching chemistry, thanks to remarkable performances from Mark Stokes and Donna Randall. Their interactions resonate with echoes of youth and happier times.

Meanwhile, through the magic of theatre, Bill shares his inner thoughts with the audience with absolute clarity and charm, breaking the fourth to reveal the knockabout lad trapped within. Mark’s portrayal shifts delightfully and seamlessly between two perspectives within the one character in a striking performance.

There’s no trace of resentment in the stoic strength and truth Donna brings to Frances, just selfless love. While the other characters in the play treat Bill like a child, Frances’s determination that despite his injuries, Bill’s adult needs must be respected, along with his dignity, issues audiences with a powerful challenge. Donna nails this.

If Mark was in our lives, would we love him as Donna’s Frances does, or perceive him as a naughty child, as elderly neighbour Molly Dwyer (Lyn Lee) does, or as an inconvenience, as Dan (Brett Van Heekeren) regards him? Both Lyn and Brett give capable supporting performances in these rather two-dimensional roles.

David Pointon’s effective spartan design ensures all our focus is on the performers.

And then there’s those gulls which so beguile Bill. So effective is Mark’s focus on them (not represented by puppets, as in other productions), in sync with the effective soundscape cueing, that we unreservedly accept their presence.

Gulls deserves a far bigger audience than the sparse house in attendance when I saw the show on the opening Sunday. Have regular comedy and thriller loving audiences been put off by the warnings of confronting themes?

Moving, engaging, and finally cathartic (am I being too Greek tragic here?), this is noteworthy community theatre.

Neil Litchfield

Images: Grant Leslie Photography