Animal/People
Brooke Robinson’s Animal/People explores the way in which a single event – the severe injury of a child – can impact otherwise normal suburban lives, and lead people to behave in ways they never expected. For actor Martin Crewes, the subject matter hit close to home. “You immediately start to think of the circumstances in your own life,” he says, “and as soon as you have kids, it’s like all your nerve endings come a whole lot closer to the surface.”
The subject matter is made even starker by the minimalist style of its delivery. “The way that the play is structured, because it’s just two people onstage, it goes between monologues and scenes,” Crewes explains, and, because the play is built around Robinson’s poetry, “the language in this piece is so beautifully put together and well-structured.” For Crewes, both the structure of the material, and the direction of James Dalton, provided “a very pared down performance style. I guess in many ways…it would be more like doing a close-up in a film”. Crewes hopes audience’s take as much away from the piece as he has, and notes that their role is less passive than in many theatre shows. “In many ways it’s the kind of theatre I like best – where it’s all about the audience’s imagination.”
April 29th – May 16th, The Bondi Pavilion Theatre, Queen Elizabeth Drive, Bondi Beach. Tickets $20 – $35, www.rocksurfers.org , 1300 241 167.
