“The Swallows is a beautifully crafted piece of theatre“
Beth Spencer
4 gliding swallows
La Mama
Melbourne
To 16th June 2024
As the audience enter the La Mama theatre to see The Swallows they are transported from the busy restaurants and nightlife of the Lygon Street precinct into nature. It is this distinction between the urban environment and the landscape of nature that is at the heart of this rich sensory theatrical experience.
Writer and director Sandra Fiona Long has set this work in a mythical place which, as she acknowledges in the program notes, is inspired by the landscape of the traditional land of the Wurundjeri people. The Swallows begins in a tranquil, natural environment which is brimming with the sights and sounds of nature as the narrator (Helen Morse) tells the tale of a child exploring this natural oasis. As the child grows into an adult, the tone changes as the urban environment increasingly encroaches on this special place, with highways, houses, and businesses increasingly appearing over time. This urbanisation brings with it a colourful cast of characters and encounters that contrast with the peaceful atmosphere of the natural world. In recognising this environmental destruction, the performers emphasise the value of the natural areas that remain and the need to protect the rich ecosystem of flora and fauna, including the swallows.
The Swallows is a beautifully crafted piece of theatre that creates a visual and auditory landscape mirroring the natural and urban environments on which it is based. The three performers, who are also co-creators of the work, use words, voice, movement, and instruments of various origins to provide a live soundtrack to this moving story. Ria Soemardjo uses her mellifluous voice and a range of traditional and handmade instruments to evoke many different elements of the environment. This is done in synchronicity with Helen Mountfont who, in addition to using her voice and a variety of percussive instruments, creates an amazing array of natural and urban sounds on the cello. This vibrant soundscape supports Helen Morse’s emotional and sensitive telling of the story of the evolution of the child and the environments. The embodied movement of the performers conjures the supporting characters of this tale, both human and animal.
All of this action occurs within a beautiful setting, designed by Joanne Mott, which filled the space with the sense of nature, of water, trees, plants, and animals. Complementing this spatial design, was Shane Grant’s lighting that was used with great effect to portray the state of and movement between the natural and urban environments. His use of colour to demonstrate the altering of the landscape over time was beautifully timed with the movement and sound of the performers.
When reemerging back into the Melbourne cityscape at the end of the The Swallows, I reflected on the variety of thought-provoking sensations I had experienced. I had been swept into a creative performance of a chamber orchestra of nature, invited to view the environment’s evolution through the eyes of a growing child, confronted by the social issues that accompany increasing urbanisation, but also appreciative and relaxed by the opportunity to return to nature.
The Swallows runs through to the 16th June 2024.
Reviewer, Theatre Now
