Europe by Michael Gow
La Mama, 6.30pm Wed to Sun, Feb 14 until March 4, 2007
Reviewer: Kate Herbert on Feb 14
Michael Gow’s 1987 play, Europe, tells two fraught love stories; one is between an Australian man and an English actress, the other is about the continuing love affair that many Australians have with all things European.
The relentlessly cheerful Douglas, played with vibrating anxiety by Travis Cotton, arrives unannounced backstage at a European theatre where the brittle Barbara, played with grace and dignity by Caroline Brazier, is removing makeup and changing out of period costume. It seems she is playing Ibsen’s tragic heroine, Hedda Gabler, complete with a gunshot wound to the head.
They met a year ago during an Arts Festival in Australia and spent a week in each other’s arms - and beds.
We witness their awkward reunion. Douglas gabbles nervously about Barbara’s marvellous performance, helplessly attempting to hide his obsession with her, while Barbara politely smile like a maniac and tries to keep his hands off her.
Director, Eddy Segal, keeps Gow’s dialogue moving at the speed of a Formula One car, emphasising the anxiety underlying this uncomfortable relationship. The two babble over each other, avoiding their past and trying to mask their unease with inanities about travel, work, Europe and Australia.
The polite discomfort peaks later at Barbara’s flat. By the time Douglas leaves at midnight, Barbara is near hysterical and he is bereft. In a café the following day, their panic turns into anger and a fierce argument ensues. Barbara urges him to leave and reveals she has a partner. He tries to rekindle their love, she resists, he insists and they continue to meet.
The foolish passion of Australian travellers for old Europe, its relics, its art and history, is satirised in Douglas. The scales fall away from his eyes as he confronts his mistakes in judgment and his relationship to Europe is also like a spurned lover. He defends Australia’s lack of history and attacks Europe’s years of bloodshed and colonial occupation.
Brazier is vivid and blazes with an inner energy as Barbara. Cotton is ebullient and childlike, switching into a rage like a child who loses his toy. They look an inapt pair of lovers but this is the point of the story. Love knows no logic so totally mismatched pair may continue to torment each other across continents or even live happily ever after.
By Kate Herbert
No comments:
Post a Comment