Too few Australian plays deal with issues of poverty, class and structural inequality, so this new work by playwright Steve Rodgers should be welcomed regardless of its quality. That it is also considered, subtle and deeply moving should be cause for celebration. The theatre can be overwhelmed by the solipsism of the middle class, and needs its perspective constantly widened.
Pam (Kat Stewart) works at an unnamed international packing warehouse in the fictional town of Burra Creek. Her daughter Rae (Sherry-Lee Watson) is an exceptionally talented year 12 student desperately trying to finish an essay on Lolita, but with a bung computer and Pam’s alcoholic dad Pop (Richard Piper) moving in to their cramped flat, distractions are numerous. Rae’s also falling for her immensely charming classmate Jedediah (Theo Clarke), who is preparing his end-of-year drama monologue, Caliban’s speech from The Tempest, through the lens of First Nations’ displacement and resistance. She wants to leave Burra; he wants to stay.
