Come along for the ride into the Australian outback with Pymble Players’ Sweet Road. Literary award-winning playwright and scriptwriter Debra Oswald describes her play as a “road movie on stage” and directors Leah White and Rob White have successfully incorporated the stories of multiple characters to create this feel.
A strong part of the production that wove the story together as a quintessential Australian play was the sound design and soundscapes by Wayne Chee. Whether it be cicadas accompanying the stars, or the snippets of meaningful lyrics from Aussie song artists such as James Reyne’s “Reckless”, INXS’s “New Sensation” and Crowded House’s “Better Be Home Soon”, the song choice brought the audience into Australia’s heart.
With the recurring theme of being on the road, six characters revolve around each other, their lives intersecting during a time when they’re moving through stressful periods. Some characters are travellers by choice, others find themselves unexpectedly in front of the wheel heading somewhere else.
Jo (Tonia Davis) leads the opening scene as she narrates how she found herself hitting the road solo after witnessing a life changing incident. Tonia Davis portrays her character’s growth well, from being scattered to feeling whole again. Jo comes across teenage hitchhiker Yasmin (Ome Wu) who is on the way to being reunited with her boyfriend who is up north. Ome Wu successfully captured the high spirited buoyancy of youth in her character which made me smile. I felt that the young naive love struck Yasmin had a lesson to learn in this play, and when she returned in the second act, her storyline confirmed this.
Michael (Nick Roberts) has a job which takes him away from home, restocking soft drink vendor machines. He’s always moving around, never in one place for long and far away in kilometres and mind from his previous life; he’s running away. Michael’s story is tragic, and Nick Robert’s depiction of his character’s depth is admirable.
The fourth lone traveller is Frank (Murray Fane). We meet affable Frank at the caravan park, sitting contentedly on his camping chair, listening to his transistor radio. Frank is what Aussie’s term a ‘grey nomad’ traveller, and Frank’s story is touching and elicits empathy from the audience.
The only couple in Sweet Road are played by Chloe Callow as Carla and Dimitri Armatas as Andy. Married with two children and a dog (unseen but all three spoken frequently to – so the audience can imagine their little personalities), they are heaped inside an unreliable car, relocating to a potential job (not for the first time) that Andy is hoping to get. Andy is clearly hyperactive, bouncing with chatter, big dreams and even bigger positivity whilst Carla is the opposite. At first, we view Carla as a pessimist, stressed and uptight. As their story unfolds, I began to understand her frustration to Andy’s promises and subsequent disappointments and relate to why Carla was this way. Both Chloe Callow and Dimitri Armatas brought their characters to life with strong portrayals of their characters. With Carla carrying her daughter’s tiny Hello Kitty backpack, I hoped that this road trip would not be their last.
Jordan Andrews played 5 characters, each an integral supporting part of the story. Diverse roles such as The Policeman brought some laughs with his interaction with Carla and as Curtis, the hitchhiker, he brought tension and drama to the stage.
The set design by Rob and Leah White was minimal, but effective in combination with the lighting and projections by Wayne Chee. With some scenes being set in country servos (petrol stations), a caravan park and on the road, the wide open spaces of the Australian highways and towns were translated onto the stage with projections. Many scenes were set with the characters sitting in their car seats, miming steering. A standout with the lighting design were these scenes. When they were driving, we would know that they were on the road, with headlight beams showing the passing steady stream of cars and traffic light colours illuminating their drive. Some scenes where characters remained onstage but not lit, to show they were not on, whilst other scenes took place were masterfully done by all.
Due to the script, the first act was dialogue heavy and if the second act was similar, the play may have dragged. However, when drama occurs in the second act, it is here where the play comes together. The first act was needed to set up the characters’ stories in preparation.
Being on the road for everyone is a journey – you are travelling either towards or away from something. These characters’ lives intertwining, show the bones of humanity and the ripples of love, grief and acceptance. For some, what Sweet Road illuminates is that there is beauty in the freedom of the open road, but also for others it provides a safe space.
The Pymble Player’s Theatre have created an emotive play which many people will be able to relate to, from the young starry eyed teenager to the grey nomads amongst us – it’s a journey not to be missed.
Running Time: Two hours and 20 minutes, including a 20 minutes interval.
Season: 7-31 August 2024
Pymble Players Theatre
55A Mona Vale Road, entrance via Bromley Ave
https://pymbleplayers.com.au/sweet-road
This review also appears on It’s On The House. Check out more reviews at Whats The Show to see what else is on in your town.
