The scenario to Australian writer Charlotte Wood’s novel THE WEEKEND is not so alluring or for that matter original. Three women, long time friends, meet to pack up the beach house of their good friend who has recently passed away. There are a lot of peaks and troughs over the course of the weekend as their friendships are tested.
Playwright Sue Smith’s passion for Wood’s novel sees Wood’s acclaimed work come to Belvoir’s main stage. I have not read the novel so that leaves me in the position of not being able to vouch for the authenticity or merits of the adaptation except to say that Smit gives us a wonderfully theatrical work which stands perfectly well, on its own feet. There is no need to have read Wood’s novel.
Sarah Goodes is one of Australia’s finest directors who has learned and polished her craft with numerous stand-out productions for the Sydney Theatre Company. She has come up with a heartfelt, tactile production. Goodes’ staging, working with veteran designer Stephen Curtis, was excellent.
Her creative team, and it is a super team, have created a richly textured world for the cast to weave their magic in. There are way too many creatives too mention in a brief review . For me the stand-outs were Steve Francis’s great soundscape, so atmospheric, Damien Cooper’s lighting design and Susie Henderson’s elegant AV design which very effectively projected visuals on to the back walls of the theatre.
Goodes has cast well.
Long ago I lost count of the number of times I have seen Belinda Giblin on stage. I think that the last time I saw her was at the Old Fitz in Samuel Beckett’s ‘Happy Days’ where she played Winnie, a middle aged woman, buried up to her waist in a mound of sand. One of Beckett’s more cheerful pieces, not!
Clearly an actress with a deep love for the theatre, and a very big range, she easily plays the role of an out of work, and very feisty and passionate actress, Adele. The scene where she flirts outrageously with a trendy young director, whilst her two friends look on in disbelief, is filled with pathos.
Melita Jurisic plays writer and academic Wendy, a breast cancer, whose spirits are sagging, to be buoyed by her friends. The audience saw the humour in the scene where she has been lolling on the ground when she suddenly finds out that she can’t get up, despite repeated efforts, and Adele and Jude have to help her up. Yep, growing old sure isn’t for sissy’s!
Toni Scanlon, best known for her role as Helen Blakemore in the tv show ‘Water Rats’ gave a heartrending performance as Jude who is in the midst of a difficult relationship with a very wealthy and very emotionally unavailable man.
The remaining cast member, last but by no means least, is Wendy’s adorable dog, the name eludes me, whose emotions are very easy to read, as is her losing struggle with old age. Kelia Terencio as the dog’s puppeteer is a non intrusive and lovely presence on stage.
The bond between Wendy and her dog is one of the pivotal relationships in the play.
A mood piece par excellence, THE WEEKEND is playing upstairs at Belvoir Street Theatre until 10th September 203.
https://belvoir.com.au/productions/the-weekend/
Production photography by Brett Boardman
