NEVER CLOSER – Bladwell Productions

They say that listeners appreciate the Cat Stevens song “Father and Son” in different ways depending on their age and stage of life at the time.

When you’re younger, it’s the plaintiff cry from a misunderstood youth asking to be accepted and not knowing where their life is going. When you’re older, you side with the father, asking the child to take it easy, settle down, you’ve got so much to experience and learn.

It’s all about perspectives and how they change.

Never Closer by Grace Chapple, the current Bladwell Productions show at the Goulburn Performing Arts Centre, treds some of that same ground, showing us a young group of friends with shared experiences and with all of their lives ahead of them, wondering where those lives will take them and whether they’ll stay connected… and then picking up ten years later. And there have been changes.

The play examines a lot of themes that are familiar and close to the heart of people at either end of the looking ahead/looking back spectrum… where are we going, where have we been, will we stay close, how did we drift apart, were our relationships ever real, what have we left unsaid, and where do we go from here. It ponders about those points in life where you have found your tribe, your mob, the crew that you run with and realise it may not last forever. And it raises the idea that while some problems are generational, maybe some solutions are generational too.

It’s a meaty, messy, emotional feast filled with wistfulness, regrets, unrequited love, unsorted grievances, shared stories and experiences, misunderstanding, changing and the ability of our loved ones to accept those changes… plus joy, laughs, good-natured teasing, LOTS of drinking and a bloody good craic.

Australian playwright Grace Chapple chose to set this play in Ireland, and the reasons become clear pretty quickly. Far from just providing some exotic wallpaper, the chronically understated troubles play a crucial role in the story, and In terms of “them versus us” arguments with a great depth of history and ill-feeling, the Catholic/Protestant, British/Irish divide provides plenty of grist for the mill.

In providing a one act play without intermission, Chapple has ensured that we stay with the story and don’t lose that connection often lost between acts. Not dissimilar to how the TV series “Adolescence” keeps audience right up close and personal by shooting the whole show as single edits, no breaks. As a result we feel even more in the room with these people, and if your mind drifts, maybe you visit similar rooms you have been in in the past.

Speaking of rooms, Michelle McAleer as both director and set designer, has given us a simple, single set that feels very homely and which explicates the script and removes any distractions of scene set ups. The sound design, by McAleer and Zachery Bladwell as co-sound designers, including strong winds, creaking old buildings and…. other stuff… only adds to the engaging realism of the room

Just on that expression “other stuff”… this play can be a bit of a minefield to review given how hard it is to avoid spoilers, when those spoilers would help emphasise the things you might be drawn to and provide reasons you might like to see it … but let’s give it a crack and skate along the edge.

Back to the director, and while audiences often don’t know what elements are from the mind of the playwright and which are from the director, one I can mention, thanks to one isolated bit of inside information , is that a key song in the show is a piece of genius, and all the choice of McAleer. 

When I first heard it, I had a pavlovian emotional reaction as it’s a personal fave with a connection to my past, but then I realised how clever a choice it was, teasing out one of the key themes about the things left unsaid that we are left guessing about. And the use of three different versions of the song, similar to the way several versions of “I was made for loving you” was used in the film Fall Guy, presents a narrative clapback that provides added resonance while also marking the passage of time. This really elevated and showcased the central themes for me.

With an Irish setting, it was essential the cast spoke with accents and all of the accents were primo… no exaggerated Father Teds here. Maybe folk from the Emerald Isle could pick holes in it but I couldn’t.

The cast represented many of the roles we recognise from our own friends and social crews. And because it’s a small cast, many of whom have featured in the Bladwell Productions journey, I’ll try to mention each.

Zac Bladwell had slightly less time on stage than the rest of the ensemble but this is one of my favourite of his performances. He has previously shown his dexterity in memorable roles, some quite powerful and quirky. His characterisation of Harry… someone’s partner (again, spoiler avoidance) was constrained, consistent, and understated but anything but boring. He had the best comic moments and delivered them with exquisite comic timing and the audience leaned in for and reacted to his every line and gesture. Structurally the narrative and dramatic tension are ratcheted up from Harry’s appearance and that’s not a coincidence. If (as mentioned in dispatches) this is the final Bladwell Productions show, then he has submitted a strong, engaging and focused swan song, mixing less is more with excellent comic chops.

Kane Crooks as Conor, the somewhat troubled and haunted member of the group, is gifted with some great comic lines and some great dramatic moments and he delivers both in equal measure. Conor is a scaliwag and the life of the party, whilst also a troubled young man profoundly affected by the troubles. Kane successfully provides evidence of both why we should love him AND why we should hate him, a particularly difficult balancing act, but he does it so well you mostly feel sorry for his actions. Mostly.

Sophie Linton’s Niamh is self assured and the one that took their chances to flee the nest and separate the most from their old life. Some believe too much and her return provokes some old grudges. While all of the accents were top shelf, I thought Sophie Linton’s was particularly impressive. As Niamh, Sophie has extra voice work to do (spoiler free zone) and does so impeccably. Listen closely to an argument she has with Conor late in the play and I think you’ll agree (another great choice by the director). 

Bella Remington, a returning Bladwell ensemble member, plays Mary… the peacemaker of the group but also the often-overlooked friend… often providing light in dark moments and calming down stroppy friends. It’s a great performance but I have to say that in all the shows I’ve seen her in (three I can think of) she has been completely different every time. Sounds like an obvious skill/requirement for any actor but you’d be surprised how many trot out variations of the same role. Bella inhabits this role so well and so differently from her previous roles that I’m again looking forward to whatever she does next.

Hannah Cotton, as Dierdre is… well, she’s a lot. Pain in the arse comes to mind. In less enlightened times the phrase “bit of a bitch” might have been used (bit harsh). She’s often prickly and defensive and if she had a quote attributed to her in her school yearbook it might have been “what did you mean by that?!” That’s certainly her exterior. Like Salinger’s Holden Caulfield, she has a massive problem adapting to change and uses a sharp tongue as her coping mechanism, but underneath that is someone struggling with her own inaction, her emotional inaccessibility and her inability to express herself. Her quick-to-anger knee-jerkiness is frustrating, but not as frustrating as the things she doesn’t say and, for all her confrontations, the things she doesn’t confront. It’s Hannah’s job to carry a lot of the weight of the show as the nominal central character (the show is set in her house). It’s not all doom and gloom with some great light moments, but it’s weight she carries with aplomb in a glorious portrayal of neurotic imperfection, once again giving an insight into her range.

I’m saving the performance by Rohan Gamble as Jimmy for last. He’s another that has graced Bladwell Productions previously, but he reeked of leading man quality in this without any grandstand moments. Varying up subtlety, strength, big moments and small, he frequently drew the attention of the audience without ever “mugging for the camera.” He had a great role to play and that helps no end, but he acquitted it particularly well with a restrained study in quiet strength. I think this role really marks his emergence as a leading man.

But as with all of the shows Bladwell Productions have produced, this was a genuine ensemble piece. There were genuinely no weak performances, no filler, no bits or characters you would have fast forwarded. I particularly liked the cacophonous bits where people were overtalking each other and finding it hard to get a word in which felt eerily real. As an audience member, unaware of how exactly the sausage is made, it’s a safe bet that the director managed and conducted the parts and contributions of the ensemble acting-orchestra and kudos to her.

There’s lots of things to look forward to that I won’t spoil. I think it’s ok to say there’s a dance break (which I was all in for). And Never Closer DOES contain a particular emotional gut punch, (again, no spoilers from me) that may hit you like a brick and sit you back on your arse (as Mary might say). Also, the very final scene MAY confuse you initially but hang in there… it explains itself, just takes a sec. Both of these elements contribute greatly to the overall sense of a concluded story.

This is an engaging production, and very well told. There are elements you’ll have encountered in other stories and other media… the two-sided coin of where are we going, flipped with how did we get here. It’s popped up in songs like Flame Trees and Should I Stay or Should I go, in movies like St Elmos Fire and The Big Chill, or in plays like Same Time Next Year and the Four Seasons. And there’s a reason it’s a theme we return to. We look ahead and wonder where life will take us, we look back and wonder how did we get here, sometimes with regret. It’s what people do. And it’s so familiar that setting the story in Ireland adds no distance at all. Chapple’s play has reinvigorated some of these concepts with a fresh examination of group dynamics when confronted with change set against a polarising landscape that seems all too current.

It’s astonishing that this was Grace Chapple’s first play. It’s NOT astonishing that Michelle McAleer and her cast has delivered such a powerful, engaging and enjoyable piece of theatre. It’s very pleasing to note that the judges from the Canberra Area Theatre Awards will be in attendance for this production. They’ll be seeing a quality performance in a great theatre and you’d like to think this production may figure in their deliberations come awards season. But it’s good just to know Goulburn talent will get a look in and be seen.

We can only hope that rumours of Bladwell Productions impending expiration are greatly exaggerated but even if not, we can be thankful for the shows they’ve brought us, for the talent they’ve nursed and supported, and hope that none of these talented creatives are lost to local stages.

Well done BP.

Sláinte.

TICKETS: Never Closer – Goulburn Performing Arts Centre.

• Thursday 19 June – 7.30pm
• Friday 20 June – 7.30pm
• Saturday 21 June – 2pm
• Saturday 21 June – 7.30pm