It’s a Dan Murphy’s now.
But, in 2014, it was a Lindt Café, and the scene of a siege in which three people, including the gunman, died.
This is the background action to Katie Pollock’s Human Activity. Somewhere off stage, this horror has happened, or is happening.
The stories we follow, the ones in the foreground, are also about male violence. A woman seeks an abortion but must do it secretly due to her controlling husband. Another now lives on the street because of abuse from her man. Another woman is fired when she complains about sexual harassment. An elderly couple trace the route taken by their niece on her final day; her partner’s malicious behaviour has driven her to take her own life. Linking all this with the Lindt siege, an act of terrorism, is deliberately and powerfully thought-provoking.
Lest this seem all too dire, there’s much humour and gloriously understated poetry. There’s a group of teenagers whose dialogue is pitch perfect. On occasion, this group morph into a flock of birds. Theatrical playfulness in combination with concerns of vital importance is what makes this a thrilling example of new Australian work.
Director Suzanne Millar wisely mines all the diverse elements of this rich script, and offers us a cast that reflects the diversity of this rich city of ours.
And there’s a further motif: loss. Belongings are lost, as is a sense of belonging. Species are lost. Innocence is lost. It’s a deeply humane vision and a courageous one: the acknowledgement that the world flows in one way, and that way is often not the way we’re looking. It’s a vision beautifully encapsulated in the most surprising of closing monologues.
Paul Gilchrist
Human Activity by Katie Pollock
at KXT on Broadway until 8 October
www.kingsxtheatre.com/human-activity
Image by David Hooley
Theatre Red 