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A Conversation CityWest Campus, UniSA Wed 8 March 'A Conversation' is two hours of a double barrel shotgun shooting emotional grief and loss straight into your brain. It's a sad and frustrating situation that is played out before the audience, even though the final outcome sheds some light. The play is more a replay of a very real situation, though it is all fictional. It brings two families together that have had their lives broken by a heinous crime; the family of the victim and the family of the offender, along with the professional psychologist that allowed the offender back onto the streets. This two hour session between the families and psychologist is a form of restorative justice lead by Jack Mainning. Watching the whole process feels more like being a fly on the wall within an actual restorative session. The play is performed in Lecture Rm. 8 at UniSA and that is all that the design uses to create this environment. The set is an arch of chairs, the lighting is very basic and the stage is the lecture room. Jack Mainning (Tristan Hudson) is realistically but nauseatingly slow and 'comforting' when he speaks making the process feel like it is taking a very long time (which it probably would). The mother of the victim, Barbara, played by Helen Geoffreys, is does an incredible job. Understandably, she cries at length, however when she starts to tell her stories about her daughter you can't help but be moved. Similarly, the mother of the offender, Coral, played by Kerry Reid, is wonderful. Together they create a realistic tension and relationship that only other mothers could fully understand. The rest of the family members support the performances of the mothers, especially Patrick Frost as Barbara's husband. Very intense, very sad and very full on.  |
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