The Moon’s Awake

THIS PLAY is a triumph of local writing.

It has been a pleasure to see Townsville-based playwright, Catherine McKernan Doris, develop and hone her skills through this play. I have seen it develop from its initial written form, workshopped through two years of Townsville’s annual TheatreiNQ Playground Writer’s Festival to finally be staged.

Presented by community theatre company Townsville Little Theatre as part of the North Australian Festival of Arts, the play was written as the first part of a trilogy drawing on the playwright’s early life and family experiences growing up in Northern Ireland. Inspired to write the work by her father’s involvement in the Civil Rights Movement in the North of Ireland, it is an authentic work written from the heart.

She explores themes of love, loyalty and friendship against the background two significant events – the landing of the first men on the moon and the flare-up of troubles in Northern Ireland. This has every element of a likeable and well-crafted play. She has created a work incorporating situations and characters with whom we can easily identify. Most importantly, it is essentially a human piece about people who - despite the external drama that affects their lives - still manage to survive and maintain a sense of humour.

It must have been with some considerable personal satisfaction that Catherine McKernan Doris also played the central lead character, Joyce. While this is perhaps not always wise, in this case she injected her open and pleasing personality once more into a character that was feisty, amusing and definite. One could sense that she knew this character intimately and her ease was infectious. It was also clear that she had coached the entire cast in their Irish accents, one of the successes of the production.

Although director Katherine Shield has approached this play with respect if not a certain amount of reverence, there was uneven pacing and energy. There were moments when several dramatic scenes needed some more delicate shaping. It is far more interesting to watch a character’s struggles to contain emotion than to reach an emotional peak too early. These peaks all contribute to the overall development and pace of the narrative and need to be carefully navigated.

After a hesitant start, Richard Price as Bernard solidified his character. He is Joyce’s neighbour and lives in the same house with his elderly aunt who is starting to show signs of dementia (played with affecting simplicity by Kellie Esling). He is trying to deal with an unresolved and damaged past, along with an unrequited connection with his neighbour, Joyce. His emotional journey is difficult and his rawness is affecting.

Joyce is married to Jim, played by David Walpole Sinnamon, whose gruff exterior belies hidden depths. Their daughter, Sheila (Mackenzie Hinnrichs) is unwed and pregnant, which in 1969 would have raised a number of eyebrows. She turns in a fully-rounded clear performance and her offstage comments provide much of the comic moments.

Tenille McDermott and Glenn Shield play their two Protestant friends, Laura and Brian. Both actors had shakey starts, but warmed into their roles. Laura’s numerous scenes with Joyce clearly showed the mutual respect these two actors had for each other.

In short, recognition of this elevated writing will no doubt lead to numerous productions of this play.

Review by Trevor Keeling

Photographer: Chrissy Maguire