” here … where the struggle to remain authentic film-makers, to not give in to the Studio machine but find some sort of compromise whilst still creating impactful art, that the play shines. “
Kate Stratford
Venue : New Theatre
Newtown (Sydney)
Dates: Until June 20th
Filled with zippy one-liners and laced with irony, Bess Wohl’s Continuity posits an exhausted film crew pitted against time to shoot their eco-action-terrorist-artsy movie – a movie perversely being shot on an arctic ice floe built in the New Mexico desert. The artificiality of Hollywood is never more evident than in David Martin-Marshall’s design – the arctic imposed on a desert. And deliciously underscored by Sitem Caca‘s costumes.
So in the most artificial of spaces – a Hollywood film set – Wohl tackles the problem of climate change and impending climate disaster. The humour is the spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down; such as the mise-en-scene of a styrofoam (completely unsustainable!) piece of ice which characters keep sitting on and breaking – much to the despair of the prop master. It is quite funny and something of an in-joke to anyone who has ever had to cope with props breaking on stage or set. The mostly silent crew provide an insight into where the real work is done in the real world without ever having a voice in outcome. Their reactions are the point where the audience connects with subject matter. Their infinite, gritted-teeth tolerance of the behaviour of the “stars” and the machine that is Hollywood mirrors our own efforts to simply work and survive in this increasingly mad world hurtling towards disaster whilst billionaires remain blithely indifferent. Sahn Millington’s direction understands script’s humour is not just relief, but a means to exposing the exposing the black absurdity of humanity.
But whilst often funny, Wohl’s script is at times problematic. There are no surprises and no new insights and apart from the central theme there are lot of observations shoe-horned into 90 minutes. It scatters the focus. The actors are intentionally stereotypical, even in their self-awareness. Nicole ((Jessica Joseph-McDermott) and her co-star Jake (Andrew McLaughlin) are superficial divas but the joke is they have researched their roles and want to “save the planet”. This is gimmicky; there is no real sense they have a delusional belief in creating art or in responsible environmental behaviour. Nicole still insists on having her own chauffeur driven car to and from the set location. The loudest do the least is the observation, but the characters feel forced.
The play is at its best in the scenes between the beleaguered director Maria (Michelle Robin Anderson ) and her estranged screenwriter-ex David (Nick Curnow). It is here, where the struggle to remain authentic film-makers, to not give in to the Studio machine but find some sort of compromise whilst still creating impactful art, that the play shines. The chemistry between Anderson and Curnow is genuine and natural, creating the mutual moments of truth in the play.
There is a recurring motif of “losing the light” which implies urgency but we are on a film set where notoriously, one has to always “hurry-up and wait”. Film sets are wasteful and as slow moving as icebergs. There is a lot of sitting around doing nothing. The parallel is, of course, human society. Sitting around whilst we are losing the chance to get something done, especially in the current oil crisis. But that is pretty much where Wohl’s central message begins and ends. The extended didactic monologue given to the Environmental consultant at the end is unnecessary really. Meant to mirror the one which should have been delivered by Nicole in the actual film script, it ends with a wry bon-mot which does not alleviate the sense of being lectured at.
Wohl was awarded The Pulitzer Prize for Drama this year for her play Liberation and there is no doubt about her talent for bringing human issues to the forefront. She structures her work in a meaningful way; each scene builds on the one before whilst at the same time peeling away layers. It just seems a little clumsy in this play.
There is a take-away lesson – it is, after all, a play and a darkly humored one at that. We have to stop thinking there will be a Hollywood script ending to our impending disaster. There is no eco-warrior who will save us. No small band of heroes who can save us from corporate greed. We are, pretty much, doomed. May as well laugh.
(For those who may not know, “Continuity” refers to the maintenance of characters’ actions, emotions and dialogue across multiple takes and camera setups. It ensures that scenes filmed out of sequence or from different angles can be seamlessly edited together into a cohesive, believable story.)
photos by Bob Seary
Kate Straford, Theatre Now
