Lucky

a marvellous show here's what I wrote for Sydney Arts Guide 
http://www.sydneyartsguide.com/View-Review.asp?ReviewID=811
'His life in a plastic bag, his family in a chain around his neck'

Like Godot , Lucky never arrives , we never see him, but he is a major character in this play and dominates the show.

This amazing,lyrical show , a 'most unusual canary',is full of waiting and has dark undercurrents of violence .It is about luck - or the lack of it - changing your life.It is about being a refugee trying to escape to 'the lucky country' with virtually nothing but the clothes on your back. Lucky is also the name of the elder brother who has already escaped .

This is the Australian premiere of a captivating , visually ravishing 'physical theatre' piece that combines stylized mime , aerial work and 'straight ' drama. It is a story of illusion, hope and determination.We are taken on a mesmerizing journey that ebbs and flows between life and death, fears of the unknown and visions of a new land.For most of the show the cast are adrift on the boat in the middle of nowhere , trying to avoid the coastguards ...

The two main characters/narrators are Lucky's two brothers who put themselves in the hands of a people smuggler to escape.It is all done for the family, to help the family survive the poverty and terrible conditions they live in in the unnamed country. There is loss and homesickness as they worry about their parents.They flee together to protect each other and establish a new life. As well they are also trying to find their brother Lucky and clarify what happened to him ( has he survived ? where is he now ? )

Director and set designer Sama Ky Balson has created a dreamlike, lyrical set with bolts of cloth and hessian ( sails) , some ladders as rigging and a moveable small raised platform that acts as the 'boat' . A simple piece of string can be many things- a fishing line, a mask, a part of the rigging..

Lighting designer Ross Graham's work is fabulous- a marvellous sunrise, glorious reflective rippling water and most effective dance-like use of shadows and silhouettes with behind the screens use of arms as fish,birds etc.There is a wonderful section towards the end where the cast clamber and 'fly' from the rigging as if they are underwater. The musical score is haunting and atmospheric .Conrad Le Bron is not only the shadowy elusive 'bird' figure but involved in the singing There are communication problems as the human trafficker doesn't speak the language at all well .Eventually we learn that he lost his family in a similar way. Sometimes he seems to care for the two brothers (offering one his hat for example) but mostly all three just endure the seemingly endless days on the boat.Somnolent,dreamlike states are contrasted with flashes of explosive  action and violence .

In one section there is a ritualized , stylized fight when the human trafficker tosses both brothers overboard dismsissing them  as 'unprofitable' .And there is a major spat about the limited drinking water .

A powerful paean to family, love and loss this show is highly topical with the current refugee situation. What would you do ? As the questions on the noticeboards ask in the foyer -  How long would you stay in a place where you couldn't speak your mind? would your kids have a future if you haven't got one yourself?

"I’m following the water, afloat with the current. I’m almost there."

Thoroughly recommended .

LUCKY, running at just an hour, is playing the New Theatre, 403 King Street, Newtown until Saturday 22nd October, 2011

(C) Lynne Lancaster

October 8, 2011