Felicity’s Score: 1.5 stars
None So Blind is the play at Sydney Fringe Festival that explores multiple sides of a gruesome story…leaving us sympathetic to no one.
In Garreth Cruikshank’s new show, None So Blind, Jude (Russel Cronin) is sucked in by the desperation of blind Mr Shepherd (Martin Portus) who seems to have been abandoned with naught but a can of soup and a sculpture in his home. Jude is already late getting to his boyfriend’s house to a cooked meal, courtesy of chef-to-be Scott (Thomas Burt), but he decides (or rather, is convinced) to cook a bowl of soup for the ‘helpless old man’. This encounter sets off a chain of events in which all the characters are linked by the traumatic residue of ephebophilic crimes and each character’s compulsion to lie to each other.
The show is unflinching towards a delicate subject matter, and whilst performances like Portus’ Shepherd are impressive in bravado, it seems to neglect the sensitivity and deep exploration this topic demands. On one hand, it is important to approach triggering topics with delicacy as to be respectful to those affected, and on the other, it’s important to approach it delicately to give those unaffected directly a chance to understand. If perpetrators remain monsters and victims portrayed as naught but the result of their trauma, what is there to learn? What is there but empty forced discomfort?
To Cruikshank’s credit, you can hear where the script intends to go with that. There’s a glimmer of exploration in an extended confrontation between Portus and Cronin’s characters, but Susan Jordan’s direction hasn’t allowed for the finesse of light and shade to make that accessible. There is this Nixon quote that seems relevant; “We cannot learn from one another until we stop shouting at one another – until we speak quietly enough so that our words can be heard as well as our voices.” Indeed, there are many times in which a fight seems to climb quite quickly and then has nowhere to go, leaving the actors either stranded or searching for something to do when leaving seems like the only believable option.
The show is punctuated by some positives, Kurtis Wakefield’s fight choreography and Jacinta Frizelle’s strobe lighting make for a moment of effective violence. Jordan’s choice of opening music sets up the mood for the initial moment well. A highlight is the integral problem of wilful ignorance, Scott’s parents are wilfully ignorant of their son’s abuse just as Scott’s partner Jude chooses to ignore his warnings about Mr Shepherd. This show hits the nail on the head with the unnerving denial that happens all the time around these incidents.
A provocative blueprint that could’ve taken a little more time to find its peaks and troughs during execution. None So Blind is performed as a part of Sydney Fringe 2019.
Felicity Anderson – Theatre Now
24 – 28 Sept 2019
Venue: Erskineville Town Hall
Theatre Company: Dark Pony
Duration: Aprox 55 min
$25.51 to $30.61
Booking Fee included
Tue – Sat 6:15pm
By Garreth Cruikshank
