Where There's a Will REVIEW March 29 2023 **

THEATRE

Written by Christine Croyden  

At La Mama HQ until Sun April 9, 2023

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

Stars: ** (2)

This review was only published on this blog after the season of the play finished. I presented a very brief comment on Arts Weekly, 3MBS, on Sat April 1, 2023. kh

Annie Wilson-Stanford, Maureen Hartley Natasha Broadstock-pic Darren Gill

Christine Croyden’s new Australian play Where There's A Will, directed by Sara Grenfell, has a promising premise of three sisters in a dispute over their mother's will. However, the production fails to deliver on its dramatic potential.

 

Those who have experiences sibling rivalry over a will may identify with this story. Croyden’s writing has its greatest effect in the calmer, more dramatic moments such as
as Carla.

 

It aims, it seems, to be a black comedy, but it straddles a line between family drama and Keystone Cops with its manic slapstick and broad characters, with mugging (face-pulling), broad gestures and loud voices replacing genuine comic acting.

 

The relationship between the sisters is fractious, with Carla being the unfairly maligned and outcast older sister to Karen (Elizabeth Walley), the brusque, greedy protein shake entrepreneur, and Denise (Natasha Broadstock), the insecure, loud, whining, overeater and youngest sister.

 

The sisters’ dialogue is incessantly combative which leaves no room for light and shade, particularly when the dialogue is delivered with almost every line emphasised and underlined, with meaningful glances, sighs, grimaces and pauses that appear to be intended to express underlying emotion.

 

The acting is uneven and one of the most significant problems with the production is the grating overacting by Walley as Karen, and Broadstock as Denise. Their vocal quality is uncomfortably pushed, which makes the dialogue sound forced and unnatural; sometimes they resort to shouting. This overacting detracts from the play's intended emotional impact and makes it difficult for the audience to connect with the characters.

 

The actors themselves are not entirely to blame. Grenfell’s direction is awkward and unimaginative, the pacing is slow and meandering, there is a lack of dramatic tension, and the characters are not fully fleshed out so there can be little investment in their stories.

 

The play needs some rigorous dramaturgy to address some of its script issues. It needs a stronger dramatic structure, more nuances relationships and characters and a clear style. There is no effective climax to the plot apart from Carla lopping the agapanthus in mum’s garden with her shears, then freezing her sisters with her “Medusa stare”. This moments is not clearly staged and lacks the requisite heightened drama.

 

The final scene is unsatisfying, running past the play’s obvious ending and throwing away the resolution to the dispute between Carla and her the sisters in a single sentence from a now suddenly ailing Carla. This leaves the audience with a feeling of disappointment rather than resolution.

 

Despite having a viable storyline about warring siblings that may be familiar to some, Where There's A Will ultimately fails to deliver on its dramatic potential.

 

by Kate Herbert

Written by Christine Croyden
Directed by Sara Grenfell
Performed by Annie Wilson Stanford, Elizabeth Walley, Natasha Broadstock & Maureen Hartley
Set Design Christina Logan Bell
Lights Julian Adams
Sound Ryan Smedley
Stage Manager Katie Williams

This review is published only on this blog. I’ll present a radio interview on Arts weekly, 3MBS, on Sat April 1, 2023. kh