Charlotte and Tom have only just met a few hours ago at a nearby bar. When we meet them, they’re stumbling into Charlotte’s upstairs flat, a little drunk, a lot flirty.
Charlotte’s place is nice, modern, with few select nods to history thanks to some pieces of art handed down to her. For someone confident, Tom seems hesitant to consummate a chance encounter, so they keep up the banter.
It’s fun, philosophical, sexy. Yet, what’s done in the dark will always be brought to light, and with dawn only a few hours away, Charlotte and Tom must contend with the truth of their encounter in a city steeped in history, much of it bloody.
The set isn’t so much a black box as it is gun metal grey, with a little warmth found mostly from Charlotte’s belongings. The majority of the colour comes from a painting hung on the wall. There’s an almost brutalist feel to the architecture, befitting a space existing in city that experienced so much post-war reconstruction.
Playing against the wall of a larger space can make for tricky acoustics, so while the audience are seated close, the actors are mic’d. It ensures we don’t miss a line, something that would have been difficult anyway with a show of this calibre.
Georgia Latchford, playing Charlotte, was incredible to watch. Indeed, “play” may be the wrong verb to use – “inhabit” might be more accurate as the play goes on in what was a fleshed-out, spellbinding performance. Her delivery of “Let them fade” is as electric a moment in theatre as you’re likely to find.
Lachlan Hamill played Tom in excellent fashion. Not an easy task when you have a role inside a role. Admittedly Tom’s voice was very even through the early going, odic declarations of life-altering love delivered with the same conversational energy as “Can I have another beer?”
Thankfully, once the skies outside Charlotte’s flat begin to lighten and our characters shift from from conversation to confession, any vocal tedium goes out the window.
Tom is someone carrying the weight of a history no one should have to bare, and Lachlan manifests all his character’s pain and responsibility and it’s impossible to take your eyes of him.
Director Erica Chestnut and her actors have spun gold with this charged and riveting production.
BERLIN
Meat Market Stables, 2 Wreckyn Street, North Melbourne
Performance: Thursday 27 February 2025
Season continues to 6 March 2025
Bookings: www.humanitix.com
For more information, visit: www.berlinplay.com.au for details.
Image: Lachlan Hamill and Georgia Latchford (supplied)
Review: June Collins