Presented by Quiet Little Fox
@ Queen’s Theatre 2
THURSDAY 1 March (until March 6)

Imagine losing yourself to a sphere where only you exist. Nothing is what it seems and you’re locked away, with no way back, not through friends or family, and definitely not through yourself. Quiet Little Fox’s production Awake, directed and written by Fleur Kilpatrick, explores lives which have been tainted and poisoned by two different diseases. Quiet Little Fox is an independent Melbourne theatre company and this is their third consecutive year performing at the Adelaide Fringe. The performance is split into two short plays, the first entitled ‘Wonderland’ and the second ‘Sandman’. Original songs act as an introduction and conclusion to the pieces, as well as an interlude between each play.

The Queen’s Theatre is, in theory, an ideal location, with high tin ceilings and an informal audience setting with chairs and tables, yet as the venue is divided into three separate theatres, loud music from the theatre next door constantly infiltrated and interrupted our performance. It is perhaps for this reason that ‘Wonderland’ didn’t resonate with me as strongly as it could have. Jean (Justin Batchelor), is a man who can’t remember and his wife, (Kristina Benton), tries to pretend things are okay, but she struggles to hide her frustration as she constantly repeats and retells old stories and memories to her husband, who isn’t sure who he is, let alone anything else. The music from next door’s theatre was particularly loud at the climax to the piece, and I can imagine how frustrated the actors must have been at the disruption, but they hid it well. Despite this, the piece conveyed that there is something liberating about the old man’s disease. He views each day afresh, with no baggage, and everything is a wonderful discovery.

‘Sandman’ was a much stronger piece, telling the story of Ester (Joanne Sutton), a young mother with a genetic disease, fatal familial insomnia. Her son Sam (Alex Roe), and brother Nate (Justin Batchelor) are her only support systems as her condition rapidly deteriorates. This piece broke down the fourth wall and addressed the audience directly in parts and allowed them into the piece more so than ‘Wonderland’. It felt as though we were being invited in to witness this family’s fight, and Joanne Sutton was especially engaging in her role, demanding the audience’s attention.  The piece kept jumping between internal monologues and dialogue, which enabled the audience to see different perspectives of each character. The effect paid off and I felt a much deeper connection to those characters than to the characters in ‘Wonderland’. It wasn’t that the characters or the cast in the ‘Wonderland’ piece were not well-developed or acted, but the story felt much more familiar than that of the second piece, perhaps because the sorrow of Alzheimer’s disease is so well documented. Therefore, I had an indication of what to expect.

There was a lot going on in the performance, with the content, the songs and music which accompanied each short play. This seemed a stark contrast to the sparse set, which consisted predominately of a couple of wooden chairs and gave the impression that the audience was about to experience a raw, slice-of-life production. Awake definitely delivered those things, yet it was overshadowed by the other elements. I felt as though the subject matter of each piece was heavy enough and involved enough to carry the performance without the songs or additional music, which detracted from the actors onstage. There was no time for the audience to consider what they were seeing. Again, the music from the theatre next door possibly offset the intended effect of the music in Awake.

There was potential for Awake to really delve deep into the minds of the audience and demand that they question and reflect upon the cosequences of its characters’ debilitating illnesses, yet the songs and the music and the constant distraction of next door’s music got in the way. Still, the show is an interesting exploration of family and strength and about what happens when there’s almost nothing left.