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Strangers On A Train.
 As
it says in the preamble for the show; "two strangers, two murders...
a deadly game of cat-and-mouse". It could only be the Patricia
Highsmith thriller 'Strangers On A Train', adapted for the stage
by Craig Warner, and being presented in Adelaide as the first
Independent Theatre offering for their 2005 season.
The plot is intriguingly simple: two men meet on a train and agree to commit murders for each other. Since they are strangers to each other, they surmise they cannot be linked or caught... but the plan begins to go wrong.
Whilst the simplicity of this outstanding drama is likely to be the first thing which appealed to Independent Theatre's Artistic Director Rob Croser, a good sized helping of social justice and personal politics probably had him thinking about the possibilities.
"Why? Well I've always loved the Hitchcock film, which came out in 1951. I've always found it fascinating, and there were elements of the book which he could not use in the film."
Last year Croser watched the movie of 'The Talented Mr Ripley' and, not realizing it was a Highsmith book, thought what a great play it would make. His interest in the author was piqued and he discovered the BBC radio play of 'Strangers...' and found out that a stage play was also available, also written by Craig Warner.
"It's somewhat more complicated and dark, psychologically," murmurs Croser.
I've noticed he never just presents an Independent Theatre play which is guaranteed of a good crowd; he always seems to seek a theme or reason for the companies investment in time and resources.
In this case it's the interplay between the two central figures which is so darkly compelling for Croser, and he agrees with my assessment of them as 'scarred'. "Indeed, one of them certainly is, a psychopath, and it's the aspect of their random meeting which is so intriguing. What I find so fascinating is that Hitchcock touches upon the theme of their characters. As Plato suggested of human nature, likening it to a charioteer driving two horses, one dark and one light, and struggling to keep them in check through the course of our lives. The two natures are constantly at war with each other."
Once again, Dai Davison heads up the Independent cast, along with newcomer Luke Jacka. Davison has been a regular in the ensemble or the last three years or so, but this will be his last role for Independent since he relocates to England in August.
Davison plays an architect going through a messy divorce, when he meets the treacherous and destructive Charles Bruno, played by Luke Jacka, who returns to the company after a role in last years 'Chinchilla'.
Croser, as always, is supportive of his cast. "Wonderfully, they all immersed themselves in the style of it," he acknowledges of the play which is perhaps the usual Independent Theatre fare. "It's also fun to be doing a thriller," he says. "It's a great yarn, and I've stripped the set design ideas back completely, so that it's very much more abstract.
"What we've done is to make it very much about creating those atmospheres with lighting and sound and so on. Of course, being a stage play we can work in longer scenes with dialogue rather better than you can do with film."
In essence, Croser sought to recreate the period of film noir cinema on stage - which he readily admits until recently he hadn't gone out of his way to discover. Recently, in the course of researching the staging for 'Strangers On A Train' he's gone back to read some of the Raymond Chandlers and other great authors of the movement. "It's marvelous stuff, and I'm especially drawn to Highsmith. Some of the plot developments and twists and turns in her writing is fantastic," he enthuses.
Alex Wheaton
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'Strangers On A Train' opens at the Odeon Theatre on Sat 2 April.
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