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A disturbing sense of disjunction, of appearances betraying meaning, of bizarre miscuing, underlies the three plays. Harold Pinter’s play Old Times directed by Clare McPherson sets the mood for the evening. Two women and a man spend an evening together - the eternal triangle. But this triangle shifts with curious liaisons forming and dissolving as each individual is subjected to isolation by the other two.
There is a strange interconnectedness between their stories. Their memories are intertwined. Pinter’s play leaves one doubting existence - perhaps we are figments of each other’s imaginations or projections of our own fantasies. The three young performers gave crisp performers. Director Clare McPherson sounds some of the depths of Pinter’s script.
Icarus’s Mother by Sam Shepard has sinister undertones. The bright sunny day at the beach is marred by the cross purposes of the picnickers. Once again there is a vein of cruelty between the protagonists and the audience is aware that everything is not as it seems. Shepard indulges in word play, and in this script the word “fireworks” can be taken to mean the entertainment, of the firepower of war. Open communication is prevented by an undercurrent of secrecy. Intentions are obscure - is the pilot of the plane attempting communication, or is there a secret code operating?
Under Kieren Robinson’s direction, the performers communicate both the brightness and the sinister possibilities of the text. David Green as Frank delivers the final demanding monologue with considerable feeling.
The third offering, Aloha, Mr Squeaky, directed by George Huitker, is a madcap romp. Three out-of-work clowns are on the run. They plot revenge on their street gang enemies. Writers Ed Cuthbertson and Stuart Roberts throw Ronald McDonald, care bears and Noddy around in ways that question the icons’ integrity. again, the audience is presented with the underbelly of the seemingly innocent, but this time comedy and parody are the writers’ weapons.
The performers smoothly sustain the play’s whirlwind of words. Last year Radical Theatre Company returned from Wagga Wagga laden with awards. This year’s plays are strong contenders for more festival prizes.
Ann Nugent, The Canberra Times, 1995