With an exciting ensemble, innovative design and steady direction, the New Theatre’s Sunset Strip almost gives a little too much to make up for the disappointingly cliche ridden script.
Family bonds are put to the test when sister’s Caroline and Phoebe reunite in their idyllic turned tragic beach town, Sunset Strip. Both cling to long held secrets that could shatter the fragile lives they are desperately trying to hold together.
Suzie Miller throws every cliche dramaturgically imaginable at this script, painfully building a tower of troupes that ultimately only disintegrates into dust rather than a triumphant rumble.
Drug addiction, secret affairs, cancer battles, sibling rivalry, children in care and a rapidly aging but wise father are all tossed into the mix but with so many threads being woven at once, the work unravels faster than it can create any lasting impression.
Annette van Roden’s directing thankfully steers the chaotic text down a much more palatable path. The characters are more than their cliches and the world that van Roden creates feels very real and very human.
The emotional pitfalls aren’t allowed to lag for long and the moments of comedy and warmth are given more time to seep into the bones of the characters and provide genuine sincere pathos.
Shane Davidson, Molly Haddon, Vincent Melton and Erica Nelson are an utterly wonderful ensemble, bringing powerful performances to the stage while never overshadowing or pulling focus. Each actor creates a character of depth and dignity.
Jay Murrin breathes further life into the work with an exquisite sound design. Moments are perfectly punctuated with aural delights that are more than mere scene transitions, rather the designs richly underscore (and somehow calms the storm) of messy themes bombarded at audiences.
Casey Moon-Watton does an adequate job in making the lighting designs take root and flourish but sadly they are given too little direction to work with to really leave a lasting impact.
With a number of Miller’s works currently playing across the country, it’s not hard to see why Sunset Strip was chosen for New Theatre’s 2024 season – it is not in any way a bad production, it is perhaps a script that is just not that in need of a remount.
Sunset Strip
New Theatre, 542 King Street, Newtown
Performance: Wednesday 10 July 2024
Season continues to 3 August 2024
Information and Bookings: www.newtheatre.org.au
Image: New Theatre presents Sunset Strip – photo by Chris Lundie
Review: Gavin Roach