THE BIG MEAL

The Depot Theatre presents an extraordinary independent play which will immerse audiences through its uniquely ambitious story and relatable characters.

Tasha O’Brien who plays five different characters, says this play is a combination of comedy and drama and what initially seems to be a simplistic play about an American family is actually quite unusual.

“It’s set in America and follows five generations of a particular family over an 80 year period. There are eight actors but we don’t play one character each, we play age brackets, so as the characters age over the 80 years, we swap who plays the characters. Since the play has such a huge time span and the focus is on life and death, some characters don’t necessarily make it to the end”.

O’Brien who studied acting at the University of Wollongong and has spent the past few years performing in the independent Sydney theatre scene, says it’s extremely challenging performing in a play which spans 80 years in 90 minutes.

“Not only are we playing multiple characters and having to differentiate them, but we also play the same characters as each other so you have to be mindful of the way other actors are portraying those characters so that the audience will have that level of belief that it is the same character just a different age. The shifts in time are also so quick, sometimes almost imperceptible so staging that has been a huge challenge”.

So how does it feel performing in a play which has received so many accolades in America and will now have its premiere in Australia?

“I feel privileged to be putting on this play for the first time here, because it’s such a worthy script and clearly it’s getting the recognition it deserves and we’re lucky to be providing another platform for it to be seen. The themes are so common and relatable that it doesn’t matter where this is staged, everyone will understand it.” (MMo)

Oct 18–Nov 4. The Depot Theatre, 142 Addison Rd, Marrickville. $22-$32. Tickets & Info: www.thedepottheatre.com

Read our full interview with Tasha O’Brien here.

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