New Theatre
until May 24th
Bookings: 1300 306 776

At first I thought New Theatre was incredibly ambitious in mounting Tony Kushner’s three- hour epic.

It is probably fifteen years since it was last staged in Sydney and I’m pleased to report that this production makes it stunningly clear why this work is considered one of the best American plays ever written.

Dynamically directed by Alex Galeazzi, this show seeks and mostly meets the challenges of a complex text that ruefully analyses America hurtling towards the year 2000.

On one level the play is about the relationship between gay and straight America. The mix of gay characters includes the AIDS-ravaged hero, Prior Walter (Beejan Olfat), and at the other end of the spectrum, a Reaganite Republican, Roy M Kohn (Laurence Coy).

This is particularly significant because the play is set in 1985 and while the AIDS epidemic is claiming so many lives, the Reagan administration remains indifferent. Kushner also writes about men who in these dangerous times are out and proud, while others deny their sexuality.

This is a work with a wicked sense of humour but it doesn’t lose its grip on its anger. Kushner is a gifted wordsmith but there is no onslaught of verbosity. He juggles many ideas about life and death but his play never becomes a polemic or, worse still, bloodless.

The very sad thing that becomes apparent watching the play is that the world hasn’t evolved as the playwright might have hoped it would.

Galeazzi’s production adheres to Kushner’s advice that the play should be an “actor–driven event” and not dominated by spectacular scenery, yet I feel compelled to praise recent NIDA graduate Brigid Dighton’s set design; this terrific visual artist has created a wondrous garden of fantasy and reality, the dominant feature being a gnarled silver tree that reaches across the space.

An unfolded scrim hangs from one of its branches where images projected evoke a specific time and place as well as serving as a device that highlights the parallels in overlapping scenes. I offer bouquets to costume designer Alice Morgan as well for making it look like she had some serious bucks to spend.

The acting is solid throughout with standout performances by Coy and Olfat, as well as the amazing Elaine Hudson.

Kushner dedicated this play to a former lover who he also named as his favourite homosexual. I might suggest you take your favourite homosexual to see this wonderful production.

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