OTHER DESERT CITIES
OTHER DESERT CITIES, Ensemble Theatre, September 11 – 18 October 2014, photography by Hawley: above – Diana McLean, Ken Shorter and Deborah Kennedy; right: Deborah Kennedy and Diana McLean.
There’s no way the Ensemble Theatre could have predicted that as their production of Other Desert Cities, set during the 2003 Iraq War, was opening, Australia would be staring down the barrel of yet another conflict as it prepares to send troops into the Middle East again.
It’s a fortuitous bit of programming but it adds a sombre edge to Jon Robin Baitz’s otherwise clever and wickedly funny play, which was nominated for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for drama.
Baitz sets his play at Christmas in the Palm Springs home of Lyman and Polly Wyeth. Lyman (Ken Shorter) is a former Hollywood star turned US ambassador. Polly (Deborah Kennedy) was once half of a comedy scriptwriting team with her sister Silda (Diana McLean), a recently reformed alcoholic.
Their Hollywood years behind them, Lyman and Polly are now staunch Republicans, much to the disgust of their left-leaning children, happy-go-lucky TV producer Trip (Stephen Multari) and intense New York novelist Brook (Lisa Gormley), who have arrived home for the holidays. But along with the usual Christmas gifts, Brook brings with her the manuscript of her second book, a memoir detailing the family’s greatest secret, and one which threatens to blow the lid off their carefully cultivated reputation.
Baitz’s superb script keeps you on your toes as the revelations keep coming and sympathies shift almost imperceptibly from the grieving Brook to the family and back again.
Director Mark Kilmurry doesn’t let the pace flag for a minute, and has assembled an outstanding cast, led by the magnificent Deborah Kennedy. As Polly, she gets the best of Baitz’s wonderfully witty but excoriating put-downs, and she delivers them with the timing and precision that would be the envy of an Exocet missile. Then there is Diana McLean as the alcoholic Silda. While initially a little cartoonish, she comes into her own in the second half as the subtleties of her character (and equally sharp tongue) are given a chance to emerge.
As Brook, Lisa Gormley balances well both the character's fragility and stubborn, self-pitying streak, while Stephen Multari is laidback and likeable as Trip. As Lyman, Ken Shorter is engaging, although he lacks the iron core that would make him more convincing as a politician.
In the vein of Clybourne Park earlier this year, it’s another excellent production from the Ensemble Theatre, superbly cast with actors who we don't see enough of on Sydney stages.
