Theatre Review: Luke

The Play: Luke by Angus Cameron

The Theatre: Red Stitch Actors Theatre, St Kilda

Runtime: 90 minutes

Until: 11 October

Stars: 4

I love when a cheap ticket over- delivers. This cheap seat, procured on TodayTix for $50 was worth every cent. 

Angus Cameron's Luke is going to become an Australian classic. It's awesome. The Red Stitch website describes it as such:

"One night in 2007, Chris - fresh out of high school - drinks, argues and philosophises with his two older teacher friends, Damon and Olena. But when a buried secret begins to surface, the night takes an irreversible turn, and their lives are rewritten forever."

Things I can tell you. Firstly, this is going to become a queer classic. It's got everything you need. Three characters, no straight answers, no way to know what actually happened all those years ago, and now way of seeing what was going to happen after the initial events. 

I'm not going to delve into the plot as it would spoil it. Needless to say, it involves accusations of grooming

However, I can say that the acting was very enjoyable. Dion Mills as Damon, the country teacher, proud of the job he's doing, probably better suited to the city, hopeful and despondent in turn. Olga Makeeva is Olena, Damon's colleague and housemate, also an outsider in the town. The third hand to the play is Will Lonsdale, who plays Chris, a favourite student of Damon, caught in his own bubble. 

The play takes place over two decades. The first act takes place at the end of 2007, which sets the scene. The other two acts take place decades later, still in the hometown where Chris has grown up and the consequences of his actions must be address. 

I've remained intentionally vague about the plot so not to ruin this. 

What I will say is Angus Cameron's script is tight, fun and walks a brilliantly morally ambiguous line from the plays first line until its conclusion.  Iain Sinclair, who directorial work with the Melbourne Theatre Company includes The View From the Bridge and Berlin, keeps the action fast paced and the relationships between the main characters very real. 

The Red Stitch's tiny stage is used to great effect, screens making the transition between time periods seemless. 

The 90 minutes of this play kept me on the edge of my seat. This is a punchy, pacy and thought-provoking play that should do very well. This is on until 11 October. Hunt out a ticket. This is one play you'll want to see before this gets more airtime. Like Break of Day, which was on at the Malthouse last month, this has the feel of a new modern classic.  

Today's song: