HALF WAY THERE
by Mary Anne Butler
directed by Iain Sinclair
Knock-em-Down Theatre, Darwin Theatre Company and JUTE, 2012.
A Theatre of the Edge tour.
reviews
“Butler writes with a toughness and energy that is somehow distinctly Territorian... a powerful addition to the argument that some of our best theatre is coming from regional Australia.” – Denise Carter, Cairns Post
“Humour and pathos, black comedy and stark realism jostle each other continually [with] echoes of Ray Lawlerʼs Doll in its use of down-to-earth, pithy one-liners and its gradual revelation of home truths…” - Glyn Davies, Arts Nexus
synopsis
Harriet and Wes live at Half Way; a rundown pub-come-brothel smack-bang in the middle of the Northern Territory. They muddle along together; yet something’s not right. The landscape itself seems to whisper of past ghosts; of things left unresolved.
And then Sabrina turns up. Twenty years younger than Harriet, and cannier than Wes, Sabrina wields the new broom of Development. As the bulldozers move in, Harriet and Wes scrabble for a place in this new incarnation.
But development is no match for nature, and as Harriet’s ghosts from the past are unearthed, the landscape itself comes alive; spewing forth its long-held secrets…
Production
Actors: Gail Evans, Laura Pike actor, Ralph Cotterill
Set and Costume: Dominie Hooper
Lighting Designer: Matt Cox
Sound Designer: Steve Toulmin
Dramaturg: Peter Matheson
Tour Manager: Sean Pardy