Above : Madison Chippendale in Nick Vagne’s WALLY at KXT Broadway
Rating : Four stars
Power, greed, manipulation, paedophilia, sexism, grief, workplace politics and bullying are some of the serious topics explored in writer Nick Vagne’s new play WALLY at KXT Broadway. It is a lot to tackle but the different aspects are all linked in the elaborate narrative.
The story centres around the disappearance of young Wally and the discovery of child pornography images of him on a workplace file. Set in the offices of the Northern River News the play includes parallel stories about a journalist’s possible promotion, editorial interference of news stories, the parents’ heartbreak over their loss and their differing grieving processes.
Although, at the core, this narrative explores dark and harrowing themes there is relief from this with a whodunnit thread and also the comic relief of an adopted wombat going missing and wandering through the studio.
There are several divergences in the narrative which serve to deflect the audience from what could have been an overwhelming misery tale, and these divergences are cleverly woven into the story.
The cast of eight actors are well led by director Amelia Gilday to bring a wide variety of characters and styles to this production. Chad Traupmann as Gideon displays great manipulative aspects and contrasts of blokiness and charm. Madison Chippendale as Lou explores the slightly unhinged grieving mother and her amusing wombat adopter persona.
Cheng Tang as Ned gives an understated and grounded performance as the office tech guy. Suz Mawer as Suzie, Lana Filies as Kate, Tammie Harper as Alan, Andrew Badger as Sam and Iley Jones as Ren all impress displaying personalities that significantly differ in character and style.
Production values for Wally are very impressive. Sound, set and lighting all combine to make for a pleasing and intriguing evening. Credits are: Production Manager and Lighting Designer: Alicia Badger; Costume and Set Designer: Margot Politis; Sound Designer: Frank Dwyer; Stage Manager: Dom Hort; Producers: Amelia Gilday, Nick Vagne; Marketing Producer: Lana Filies, Production photos: Amelia Gilday.
The world premiere of WALLY played the KXT Theatre Broadway between the 24th January and the 8th February 2025.
Production photography by Amelia Gidley
