Gruesome Playground Injuries, the 2008 play by American playwright Rajiv Josef, makes its Melbourne debut at this years’ Fringe Festival. It’s the ambitious first project from NewCharacter Productions (actors Katarina Viva Schøller and Nicholas Jaquinot), directed by David Ward.
The piece follows the lives of Kayleen and Doug over the span of thirty years. Their first meeting, at age eight, is in the sick bay: Doug has ridden his bike off the roof, and Kayleen has a psychosomatic stomach pains. These characters’ lives continue to intersect, and though they care for each other, a mutually supportive relationship is obstructed by the same carelessness and trauma that is evident at this first meeting.
The production is well designed. The non-linear narrative is easy to follow with a sign indicating their age at the start of each scene. Designer Eleanor Steiner’s set is simple and effective: the two beds and minimal props easily transition from sick bay to emergency room to Kayleen’s bedroom to a psychiatric ward. A nice touch is the costuming, which aids in establishing the age of the characters. Over the course of the play, the set becomes littered with discarded clothing which builds up like scar tissue: a constant reminder of their damaged past. One quibble is that each of the seven or eight scene transitions seems to take ages: long minutes are spent watching the actors getting changed on stage. The make up and special effects are excellent; the eye injury is particularly realistic. It’s impressive that both characters are able to apply their own make up-on stage with such precision.
The two roles are very demanding and Schøller and Jaquinot do a good job; however, their decision to adopt American accents is questionable. Presumably it is to avoid having to alter references to girl scout cookies and ice hockey, though neither of these are central to the plot and the story could fit into an Australian setting without issue.
It’s clear that both actors and the director love the text, but their reverence has resulted in an underdeveloped interpretation. Overall, the production lacks nuance, and it’s a shame that this deeply tragic interpretation occasionally slips into melodrama. Some levity would’ve provided a nice contrast. And while Gruesome Playground Injuries is a tragic and confronting story, there is the potential for a lot of dark humour which in this production is unexplored. For example, at one point Kayleen states that she can’t believe that Doug would commit suicide because then “he wouldn’t have the scars to show for it”. This line is delivered in bitter anger, as is the majority of her dialogue.
Gruesome Playground Injuries is fine play imperfectly realised, but the opportunity to see a Rajiv Josef play is one rarely afforded to Melbourne audiences and fans should not miss out.
Gruesome Playground Injuries runs from 22nd – 25th of September at L1 Studios, Level 1, 377 Little Bourke Street. Tickets $25, $22.
