STARC Productions. Holden Street Theatres. 3 Nov 2022
A game of counterpoised views and secret needs, within a game of ‘truth’.
This fascinating dance of psychology plays out between two former jurors, Anna (Stefanie Rossi) and Mitchell (Marc Clement), two years after a hung jury murder trial. Anna’s clear, long-held, needy obsession with Mitchell is quietly disturbing. Mitchell’s uneasy acquiescence to this is equally troubling. The luxury Singapore apartment booking is his.
Their reminiscing replay of the trial runs parallel to that of their relationship during the trial.
There is a huge psychological and emotional hole these two seem desperate to fill. The outcome of the trial, for both. For Anna especially, the truth of Mitchell as a guiding light of a traumatic experience.
It starts to get messy the more evasive Mitchell gets and the more questioning Anna becomes. Something is wrong here. The verdict as they see it is at stake. They, as people to each other, is also in question.
Director Tony Knight’s production succeeds in building an almost unbearable tension in the space between the characters, but it falters in scene break blackouts which confuse, rather than double down on that tremendous undercurrent.
There are moments the equity of play between characters stiffens rather than flows. The fault is quickly rectified, but leaves a mark nonetheless.
Despite this, and a somewhat ordinary lighting design, this production does the job of attacking playwright Suzie Miller’s essential thesis. What happens when you reconsider a verdict in a life and death trial?
David O’Brien
When: 2 to 12 Nov
Where: Holden Street Theatres
Bookings: holdenstreettheatres.com
