In chess, an “endgame” is reached when grand strategies have mostly played out, and few pieces remain. Whilst the choices available are now limited, there are still some, at least for a time.
Through its trio of short works, Endgames (starring Max Gillies, directed by Lawrence Strangio) presents us with scenes where, thanks to certain prompts, three largely solitary older men are considering which moves they have left to play.
ABC viewers with a long memory know Gillies for satire, including his impressions of politicians, through The Gillies Report (1984-5). This is merely a blip in an acting career that started back in Carlton in the 1970s.
Gillies has credited certain writers for nourishing his satirical bent, and of those, selections from Jack Hibberd (North-Western Victoria, 1940-2024), Samuel Beckett (Ireland, 1906-1989), and, following an interval, Anton Chekhov (Russia, 1860-1904) comprise Endgames.
Our opener was an excerpt from Hibberd’s A Stretch of the Imagination, first performed in The Pram Factory in 1972. Monk O’Neill lives some kind of almost-monastic life on his property in One Tree Hill. If you had been looking forward to seeing Gillies in action, you didn’t get much of a chance in this scene.
Sound design by Darius Kedros made it appear that O’Neill was rattling around in his house above us, recounting recollections to himself as he moved between rooms. Sound effects could be unsubtle, sometimes competing with the text.
This caused the initial surprise of spatially distributed sound to lose its appeal. Still, Gillies’ delivery gave us a recognisably laconic Australian voice, accepting the passing of time whilst getting affairs in order.
Beckett’s Eh Joe (1965) featured Gillies sitting on a bed in low light. A disembodied voice (Jillian Murray, extensive credits include L’amante Anglaise) speaks to this Joe, vocal effects suggesting this isn’t another case of an offstage character.
Murray’s queries ranged from initial prodding about Joe’s finances, to more detailed, sharper explorations of past interests, and even a somewhat gloating suggestion of what Joe’s future would hold.
A wordless Gillies showed a growing unease in the one-sided conversation. However, we might wonder if the shifts of facial expression could be a bit subtle for those sitting too many rows from the stage.
Still, the piece illuminates the plight of the older person, largely isolated from society, having to reckon with the prospects of fading faculties. This is an uncomfortable, yet hardly uncommon matter that seems to struggle for attention outside of the odd season of Old People’s Home For 4 Year Olds.
The audience was offered a kind of relief through Chekhov’s On the Harmfulness of Tobacco. At the suggestion of his wife, Nyukhin is to deliver a lecture for charity. This bumbling man had much difficulty in staying on his topic.
He would often detour into accounts of his various thankless obligations in his wife’s school for young ladies. Gillies makes Nyukhin a tragi-comic figure, one who possibly could have a better life if he had more backbone. The setup is almost enough cover for periods of reading lines, but not when standing too far from the lectern.
Endgames was a welcome opportunity to see some rarely performed monologues and spend time with a legendary performer. However, maybe Strangio and Gillies have not yet explored all the moves available to them. If Gillies had presented a play-reading, one suspects it would still hold substantial interest.
ENDGAMES
fortyfivedownstairs, 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Performance: Friday 23 may 2025
Season continues to 1 June 2025
Information and Bookings: www.fortyfivedownstairs.com
Image: Max Gillies – photo by Jodie Hutchinson
Review: Jason Whyte