“Clever. Challenging. Confronting.”
Kate Stratford
4.5 Stars
Venue: Flight Path Theatre
Marrickville
Dates: 22nd October to 1st November
Before Netflix’s Adolescence there was James Fritz’s Four Minutes Twelve Seconds, a punchy, sometimes funny, increasingly gritty stage play delving into the world of modern moral certainties and uncertainties. And addiction to technology.
Di (Emma Dalton) and David (James Smithers) have focused their existence on ensuring their son Jack – who we never see – has the best. Of everything. Including a future. When a four-minute video of Jack and his now ex-girlfriend goes viral, their carefully constructed world begins to fall apart. They make increasingly questionable revelations and decisions in an attempt to salvage something from the fallout. Very much a play of the digital age, 4:12 deals with the unappealing subjects of sexting, online porn, assault, modern parenting challenges and teenage sex without ever being a diatribe. All in eighty minutes. It raises vital questions about societal expectations, consequences, and technology’s broader effects on not just youth, but adults too.
This is a tight, quality production – as one has come to expect from anything involving Secret House. A minimal, effective set where shadows are allowed to intimidate works as a metaphor for a blank screen. As good sets should, it enhances the play rather than detracts. The only world which exists for our characters is the world of the phone. These are always on, all are constantly engaged with them. Jane Angharad’s direction has an ironic flair with all four cast members constantly scrolling on their phones even whilst talking and dealing with the dire consequences of continual technology engagement. The screens are omnipresent and the potential for further harm is just one click away. Pace is snappy, emotions on edge. Each layer of the story is peeled away – sometimes in blurted out reactions – revealing the less than savoury versions of the characters.
Central to the action are the parents. Dalton and Smithers smash the dynamic of a married couple discovering they are strangers to one another. As the internalised misogyny of each surfaces, the struggle to deal with it strips both of any confidence and exposes their fears and insecurities. Dalton’s purpose drives the story but it is Smithers’ David whose callous indifference which serves the themes. Kira McLennan delivers a compelling performance as Jack’s ex-girlfriend. Cara seems like a tough cookie, but when that guise fades, McLennan reveals a vulnerable child trying to deal with the trauma of non-consensual sex. The fourth cast member, Nick (Nicholas McGrory) is Di and Davids’ choice for a scapegoat. But his stolid presence refuses to accept that burden and behaves with a dignity alien to the parents.
This production of Four Minutes Twelve Seconds serves the playwright well. It is a quicksand of a play. Just as it seems we have settled into a solid perspective, the ground beneath shifts. Where does the truth lie? In a world where smartphones are ubiquitous, James Fritz’s provocative drama poses questions about our willingness to abrogate responsibility and be held hostage by social media.
Clever. Challenging. Confronting.
Kate Stratford, Theatre Now
