Red Sky Morning
Red Stitch Actors Theatre
August 27 - September 27, 2008

A vicious dog, a fart and a pulsating pimple. This is how the day begins.

Three inner monologues tell the raw thoughts of a father, a mother and a daughter. In one day a lot can be considered and not said to those we love - even when we desperately need to reach out.

Red Sky Morning, the new play by Red Stitch playwright-in-residence Tom Holloway, is three interlocking monologues by a man (David Whiteley), his wife (Sarah Sutherland), and his teenage daughter (Erin Dewar). It is one day in the life of this family. To tell anymore would diminish the tender experience of discovering their secrets for yourself.

Developed in conjunction with ensemble cast members and director/dramaturge Sam Strong, and a result of the Red Stitch Writers program, this is new, exciting Australian modern theatre. The words are striking in their honesty. They are real people in crisis - they could be our neighbour, our friend, or our child’s classmate.

The characters speak directly to the audience and never once interact with each other. Yet their stories entwine together. The dialogue changes speed and rhythm like a piece of music. Sometimes they speak alone, sometimes all at the same time, and sometimes they answer each other’s pauses.

This can get tricky, and perhaps there was too much sound; at times it was hard to pick out a single voice within the harmony. Their jumbled words during the middle of the production could have used a more central focus - one speech to rise above the others.

As well, Whiteley’s sole male voice was frequently drowned out by the higher pitch of the two females. This was not helped by his position upstage on many occasions and the lower lighting on his face. His most dramatic scenes came seemed a little out of place, lacking the buildup the women were able to produce.

However, this is only a small issue. And perhaps we needed these moments of cacophony.

Each actor was comfortable in his or her character’s skin and confident with the lyrical script (perhaps due to their working alongside Holloway and Strong to develop this play). I believed in them, and in their family. There was humour and intensity when needed.

The functional set, designed by Peter Mumford, was a room with a sole table, two chairs, and one coffee mug. This area was bordered by floor-to-ceiling cream-coloured venetian blinds, which the actors opened and closed, lifted up and brought down, letting us into their heads and lives and bringing us back out again.

Red Sky Morning is a commentary on our society and a candid look into the modern family unit. It is also a beautifully sincere story about three people and the pressure and problems they face dealing with existence.

This world premiere production was raw, real and human. It left me wondering: how many of us spend our lives in our own inner thoughts and never really say what we want or need to those we love - even in times of crisis? And if we don’t speak out, will our lives continue the same daily cycles or will our problems eventually explode regardless?