OBSERVER: Super
Emilie Collyer’s Super is a theatrical indulgence whimsically delving into the absurd.
Phoenix (Lucy Ansell), Rae (Caroline Lee) and Nel (Laila Thaker) all have unconventional superpowers – the ability to control anger, to bring people to tears, and an inordinate capacity to organise.
Collyer dispenses with the usual notions of character development and narrative exploring concepts like celebrity, friendship, charity, and even technology as the three protagonists become consumed by their own capacity to influence their situation.
The nonsense is delightfully enhanced by a quirky set and extravagant costuming (Romanie Harper).
Circular portals in the walls, floor and roof not only allow for exits and entrances but become convenient chutes to discard props. The eccentricity in the outfits worn speaks to celebrity and excess.
Emma Valente’s direction delights in the nonsense. Ansell, Lee and Thaker revel in the possibilities afforded by theatrical absurdity. There is a realism in the core of friendship between the characters though it is, perhaps, up to each individual audience member to take from the play a central theme.
It could be the corruption of celebrity, the loss of rational perspective, the fact that a superpower could be something quite ordinary and common that we exercise each day.
In this regard, the nature of the work may not be what some theatre goers expect but it does speak to Red Stitch’s commitment to negotiating theatrical boundaries.
The play was developed through Red Stitch’s INK program that encourages contemporary works by Australian playwrights.
With that creative fervour in mind, Super challenges assumptions enabling audiences to explore the dimensions of theatre and where their tastes lie.
Performance Season: Until July 6
Venue: Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre, Rear 2 Chapel St., St Kilda East.
Bookings: redstitch.net
Review by David McLean