THE RIVER – Lieder Theatre Company

Photo: Peter Oliver Imagery

Can a place be bad?

Can there be a tangible darkness about a place. Can there be a permeable sense of foreboding… of menace… of evil?

It’s been a pretty ripe story-telling setting for many writers. Arthur Miller had a crack, Stephen King bloody lives there. And it’s how we first encounter the town of Gomorra in David Cole’s new play The River.

The River is a brave, almost surreal examination of a small town gone bad. Perhaps there’s something rotten in its foundations. Perhaps it’s a lovely place but just cursed with too many bad eggs. Maybe it’s misunderstood? Yeah, nah.

There’s definitely something wrong in this town, something fishy in the state of Gomorra. Which incidentally is just down the road from Sodom Hills and one wonders if a smiteful God has plans for these places. It’s that sense of “something’s not quite right here” that new teacher Doug McClennan would have done well to listen to the voice screaming “GET OUT” in the back of his head when he first arrives. But he didn’t, and so fortunately for us, we have a story.

You see, the old teacher went mad, they say. Burnt down the school, they say. Locked up in an asylum, they say. Or some say he’s dead. It’s a town, they say, that would drive a good man to drink.

Folk horror isn’t a form of theatre we see a lot of. So what does it even mean? Mr Wikipedia suggests it’s a subgenre of horror film, fiction and drama that uses elements of folklore to invoke fear and foreboding. Kind of like, did you hear what happened to Farmer Patterson’s sheep? Or what’s going on at the old Miller place? Or, the old teacher went mad, they say. Incremental bits of local folklore, welded together to feel like overwhelming foreboding fact.

I mentioned that the story is almost surreal which is probably a bit like being a little pregnant. Talking anthropomorphised snakes and crows probably lean into the surreal, and yet there is a linear narrative. There are plenty of ethereal and unexplained elements and yet things happen to Doug in a linear order, the question is more about whether all the things he experiences are happening at all. And is the whole town “in on it”, whatever IT is. You’ll have some answer by the end of the show, which by the way is a very enjoyable 60 minutes… straight in, straight out, no mucking about.

But within that story frame, there are a lot of directions you can take a story. The X Files and its predecessor The Night Stalker would spend each episode trying to myth bust a branch of horror folklore only to leave the gate wide open by the end. Twin Peaks would just throw in any random surreal elements it wanted and let the audience figure it out however they chose.

This play charts a course between the Scylla and Charybdis options of explaining fact and God knows what… providing more explanatory detail as it goes while still leaving plenty of connections open to your imagination as Doug’s self doubt / descent into madness accelerates.

In The River, playwright David Cole has assembled a rag tag group of edgy, menacing characters, including a drunken cop and a drunken doctor, a barwoman who, just occasionally, seems to have some sort of mystical powers, some ghostly characters, a bushranger (potentially another ghostly figure?) and the talking spirits of animals. It’s a very rich stew of characters, none of whom are obvious, and who are a credit to Cole’s layered vision of his story.

And its a very rich stew of performers too. Director Blake Selmes has assembled some of Goulburn’s most experienced actors who fill the stage with their animated and diverse portrayals. Too many to individually single out but I’ll make two brief mentions.

I thought Martin Saunders was exceptional as Sharwood… the character who gets the most opportunity to share his back story and who balances the comical and the menacing very deftly. Also, I am eternally glad that I will not have to see Ant Lewis sauntering drunkenly around wearing nothing but a jock strap / diaper from which (I think all of the audience held their breath) he reached in and pulled something out that was fortunately not anatomical. At least I think that’s in the show. It could have been a cast party from years ago. I am old and easily confused.

A friend of mine that saw the show said it is the best staging, lighting and sound they’ve seen at the Lieder for many years. High praise. I also thought it was very good and served the story perfectly, which is the whole point, so kudos to Director Blake Selmes for his production vision, soundscape and stage. While I’m at it, the costuming, props and head pieces do a great job of adding to the other worldly nature of the show. Props to those who contributed as well.

But I am going to lean into focusing on the playwright on this occasion. It is very tough to get a local play up. It’s tough enough to write them, let alone have people agree to perform them. But more than that, once selected, it then has to stand up to scrutiny. It has to be as good as something else that could have been performed in its place. This play most definitely is. It would not have been out of place to see this as a touring show exactly as it is. It’s a type of play that’s not for everyone… quirky and possibly weird for some tastes… but it’s fresh, and if part of theatre is seeing a NEW story, well told, this gets both ticks.

Cole drew some inspiration from his father, the late great Keith Cole, former deputy mayor of Goulburn and a man who went bush to teach. There are similar elements in Cole’s play Russian Dolls but that’s where the similarities end. This is an entirely new piece (and presuming Keith didn’t have run ins with ghosts, a complete new work of fiction).

Other inspirations may have included Aussie cinema of the 70s and 80s. One reviewer referred to this play as having some similar themes to Wake in Fright. Good call. The 70s and 80s were rich with home grown horror like Patrick, The Last Wave, the Cars that Ate People (seriously) … even Picnic at Hanging Rock at a stretch. The Deborah-Lee Furness movie Shame, though not horror, has her riding into a town of pure malevolence and figuring out how to escape.

But this play is none of those. It’s brand-spanking new. In my opinion, one of Cole’s greatest attributes as a writer is his bravery. ALL writers are insecure (maybe I’m projecting but I’m standing by that) so it’s tough to write something that doesn’t give the that esteem hit of audience understanding and instant praise gratification.

At least a couple of his plays, including this one, don’t tie everything up in a bow for you and don’t seek the easy crowd cheers. The audience has to do some work and Cole doesn’t dumb it down in areas to make it neater and simpler. His willingness to take the big swings is absolutely admirable, and that would be worth stating even if he tried mightily and failed. But this doesn’t fail. It’s quite a good work. As I said, it’s new, it’s fresh, it’s a different theatre experience and even though I think it should be rewarded with good attendance just for being a local having a go, it’s double worth attendance because it’s bloody good theatre.

Remaining shows

Saturday 28 June 2pm

Saturday 28 June 7.30pm