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Contacting Laura Sulis Productions The Garage International, Nexus Multicultural Centre until Sat 13 March If 'Contacting Laura' is one of those little Fringe productions you teeter between should I go or should I spend my money on the big production with all the actors I've heard of...?, my advice is go check out 'Contacting Laura', written by Steve Carley and brought to Adelaide by the English touring company, Sulis Productions, as part of their 4-FEST-2004 project. The beginning was a little slow and I was a bit unsure of what was going on but this confusion only lead to a more intriguing ending. Alec, played by Anthony Biggs, has come back to a house filled with memories of his old life with his wife Laura and their daughter, only to find Laura's friend Jill, played by Laura Sydonie, already there. What follows is a well-constructed journey through the grief, loss and blame that Alec has been holding since the end of his marriage. Sydonie and Biggs work together like a well-oiled machine, always communicating to each other and the audience, never letting a moment pass them. Sydonie is beautifully understated as the medium between Alec and his past, allowing Biggs the stage to move through his grief. And Biggs does this effectively, but with something a little less than Sydonie. Biggs' eyes were his most powerful weapon; when you look into them you feel total empathy for this character. You identify with the protagonist Alec, as the grieving father, only to have the journey flip and mould into something quite extraordinary. Though the performance is slow (some moments laborious, as when Jill is lighting the candles) it is necessary to set the atmosphere; time passes very quickly and the hour long show is over, leaving you with a little bit of wanting more. |
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