Review – Wake in Fright
Based on the novel by Kenneth Cook, Wake in Fright tells the story of a young and cultured teacher who is eager to escape the confines of the city over his summer break. Becoming stranded in the mining township of Bundanyabba, and gambling away his already meagre wages, audiences witness teacher John Grant quickly enter a booze-fuelled downward spiral. What began as a harmless, if somewhat halfhearted plan to flip some coins, grab a few easy bucks and make a quick escape, soon escalates into a horrifying nightmare where blind drunkenness, unsettling sexual encounters and sexist bravado are all too common place.
Under the direction of Renee Palmer, Australian company Yabba Productions bring to the stage Bob Pavlich’s adaptation of this classic. For those aficionados of Australian cinema, the play of course cannot escape comparison to the iconic film by Ted Kotcheff which was first screened at Cannes Film Festival in 1971, and again in 2009. The film quietly presents rural Australia with the ocker outback oafs, and masters subtlety all too well. Rather than simply limiting itself to a portrayal of quixotic images of dusty red soil, booze and roos, the film instead dares to unveil a grotesque and very troubling undercurrent. Startlingly familiar, yet quietly horrifying, the film is able to unnerve us perhaps in the way that it honestly presents an Australia that is a little too recognisable.
Through an appropriate and minimalistic set, which used used petrol canisters, weathered wooden tables and sheets of corroded corrugated iron, Yabba Productions were able to effectively transport audience members to “The Yabba”. Many of the actors offered performances that were commendable, but the fast moving pace of the play (in perhaps an effort to translate as many of the elements of the film as possible) meant that at times it felt a little slapdash. And unfortunately, at times some actors fell victim to over-exaggerated acting making the play feel a little heavy-handed. Whilst a number of overt social themes such as alcoholism were addressed, it felt that the cast didn’t quite know how to convey those remaining pressing themes which exist in the original texts as beautifully understated.
Ultimately, Yabba Productions provided an engaging performance with a clear narrative and creative set design. However, many themes that were alluded to simply were not fully explored, making it difficult to properly grasp the essential message that there are aspects of the Australian culture that are vulgar, frightening and perhaps too often swept under the rug.
