Theatre Review: Black Light

 The Production: Black Light by Jada Alberts

The Theatre: The Merlyn at The Malthouse

Runtime: 90 minutes

Until: 7 March

Stars: 4

I wasn't supposed to be going to the theatre tonight, but a friend had a spare ticket and I thought why not. 

I'm glad I went. The production was plagued with some difficulties. One of the main characters was on book, and the understudy was playing another character - but they did exceptionally well, and I can't imagine how they did so well. Also in a crucial part of the play an audience member had a serious medical episode meaning the play had to stop while the ambulance was called and the audience member was taken out of the auditorium. 

Regardless, the four actors did a great job. 

According to the Malthouse website, "Black Light is a play about finding our way back to ourselves, to Country and to the people we love, when everything else tries to tear us apart. 

Things are uneasy in town. No one’s sure what’s going on, or how long it’s going to last. Fuel is scarce, so is water, military jets fly overhead and all other flights are grounded. The only choice they have is to wait it out. Together. 

The eldest in the family is Nan – she has dementia and finds it difficult to make sense of the world. The youngest is Bub. Recently separated from their wife, Bub is struggling to find stability and parent alone. Aunty and Mum are sisters and yet polar opposites. They nitpick at each other, barely able to conceal their disdain. There's so much history between them all, so much water under the bridge, and none of it clean. 

What emerges while they wait, are the deeply ingrained fears they're all carrying. The pain and the wisdom. In the stillness, it all seems ever-present. But Country is speaking louder now and it cannot be ignored."

This took a bit to get into. The mix of near-dystopia, mixed in with the dreaming stories, mixed with the Larrakia vibe was unsettling, but very interesting. 

The First Nations actors were all great. Sisters Liza and Rachael Maza as Mum and Aunty. Ella Ferris did a great job standing in as Bub, and Paula Nazarsky's Nan was on point despite being on book. 

For me the thing that hit home the most was the set, which portrayed a normal Northern Territory verandah in the wet season, with a beach and rocks that are so like the Darwin foreshore. I didn't realise how much I'd missed it. It was exceptionally well done. 

As I said, I'm glad I got to see this. I'm glad it took me out of my comfort zone and made me think. That's never a bad thing. 

Today's song: