Despite a deceptively simple title, Love is a play which is far from that. Patricia Cornelius is a writer with an acute appreciation of human frailty and she explores this in a unique and intuitive way in her award winning yet, until now, unperformed play. Ostensibly, the premise seems bleak: three homeless, poor, drug addicted young people trying to find stability and connection in a fractured world. But director, Rachel Chant says it’s not all doom and gloom.
“The play deals with hope […] and how hope gets us through life and how as humans we’re kind of connected by our joint yearning for something better.”
It’s poignant and raw with some dour themes, yet the play is also very funny and is given levity through Cornelius’ poetic use of language.
“Patricia [Cornelius] has a love for these characters and it comes through in her writing. They’re joyous,” explains Chant. Told through a series of vignettes, the story revolves around three characters. Tanya and Annie are in jail. They are lovers and are planning a future together once they’re released. That day comes but Tanya soon returns to prison. Annie seeks comfort and ultimately falls in love with Lorenzo. When Tanya is finally released she, Annie and Lorenzo form an alliance in an effort to each get what they need in terms of security, survival and love.
“The three of them try and find a way to make this work and they form this symbiotic relationship and it all sort of takes off from there,” says Chant.
The production elements are sparse and the set is bare minimum, allowing the dialogue to provide mental imagery for the settings and surrounds. The challenge for the actors is to depict the characters truthfully, using authentic street language, while at the same time conveying the lyricism of Cornelius’ writing. For Chant, being the first person to direct a production of Love is a special thrill.
“It’s really exciting that we get to be bringing it to the main stage and to hopefully contribute towards making it a part of the Australian theatrical canon, which is where I think Patricia’s work belongs.”
Until Dec 9. Eternity Playhouse – Darlinghurst Theatre, 39 Burton St, Darlinghurst. $38-$54+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.darlinghursttheatre.com
By Rita Bratovich.
