Bess Wohl’s Continuity at the New Theatre is an admirable attempted to breathe life into an extremely clichéd script filled with shallow two dimensional characters.
No one said that the movie making business was easy, but with the film’s make it or break it director feeling the floor rapidly falling out from under her, the stakes have never felt higher.
Wohl attempts to use the process of making a climate disaster movie as a metaphor for the planets current climate crisis, however the script relies on surface level tension, commonly known science and an over arching story arc that gets lost in it’s own lofty intentions.
The core intension of the work is not strong enough to sustain a full length play, so instead, the audience is subjected to B plot after B plot that leave the characters with awkward needs and wants that ultimately go nowhere nor get wrapped up.
Sahn Millington really does their best to keep the script exciting – drawing the audience in with a rollercoaster approach to the highs and lows of the work, never quite letting a moment settle or an opportunity to question why this work was staged.
The ensemble of Nick Curnow, Susan Jordan, Jessica Joseph-McDermott, Andrew McLaughlin, Sarah Nader, Julie Quinn, Noah Rayner, Michelle Robin Anderson and Sora Wakaki are at times given too little or too much to work with, constantly balancing overwrought character backstory with story segues that would give even the most well seasoned actor whiplash.
As with each New Theatre production this year, the set, this time by David Marshall-Martin, was utterly on point, giving the actors a rich playground to explore and a canvas for Julian Dunne’s lighting to add the depth lacking in the script.
Ultimately, Continuity is a production held together by the creatives making it – adding the layers and dramaturgical work that the writer just seemed to forget.
CONTINUITY
New Theatre, 542 King Street, Newtown
Season continues to 20 June 2026
Information and Bookings: www.newtheatre.org.au
Image: The Cast of Continuity – photo by Bob Seary
Review: Gavin Roach