It’s Friday and Pia, a receptionist at Autumn Dale Village – an aged-care home, is looking forward to a long weekend. Her kids are with her ex and she’s happy to have some time to herself. But she’s still got a whole day of work to get through.
Her day is
busy taking calls, rostering shifts and co-ordinating various suppliers and
outside contractors to look after and entertain the residents of the Village.
Today, and probably most days, she has to deal with Lauren – a woman with
dementia who barely speaks, and Colleen, who is desperate to fill her time and
never shuts up.
Lauren is
only an occasional problem, moving the sign-in book or randomly asking “are you
there” to an audience of no one. Colleen is making lists and planning her day
and demanding help from Pia, who is effectively chained to the front desk, with
barely a scrap of paper to lend out.
When Pia’s
personal life starts to impede on the day – her daughter hasn’t shown up to
school and her ex-husband is feigning illness to get the long weekend back to
himself, her attention starts to wander and it becomes harder and harder to juggle
all her responsibilities. Can she keep an eye on Lauren and lend an ear to Colleen’s
stream of complaints and suggestions?
Irene
Korsten’s new play, Are You There?, is a gentle comedy about ageing and
motherhood and the care women are expected to provide – particularly in the absence of men (or when men abdicate their responsibilities).
The
reception area of the aged-care village is the centre of the maelstrom, straightforwardly
designed by Josh Macneil – with a little bit of whimsy around the edges. Tomas
Gerasimidis’ lighting design is subtle, but effective. Dylan Lumsden’s costume
design puts Pia in a practical block-colour uniform and Lauren in unremarkable
beige so that Colleen’s bold print shirt makes her the centre of attention
every time she arrives.
The ensemble
is a delight. Melanie Madrigali’s Pia is straight-down-the-line with the
occasional flourish of frustration and anger bursting through. She threads the
needle well between professional and ready to run at any moment. Rosemary Johns
gives a remarkable almost-silent performance as Lauren and while I admire the
restraint in the writing, it might have been good to give the character more
things to do. Her recurring moments of reverie, where she moves more fluidly and may
have regained access to her memory, are very welcome though.
Jane Clifton is the stand-out, because the character of Colleen is literally and figuratively very colourful. Colleen has a walker to help with her mobility and you can hear her coming from a mile away. We also get the most insight into her character. She grew up with a mother who was toxic, though Colleen doesn’t really articulate that; in her memory, her mother was beautiful and she keeps her on a pedestal. While you could imagine the character of Colleen being much more abrasive – she says a lot of objectionable things, Clifton keeps things light and most of the show’s comedy comes from her unrelenting need to have things planned. It’s easy to imagine in a place like this, if she doesn’t plan activities, she might end up alone in her room.
Director
Rachel Baring negotiates the changes in tone, guiding the performers to
find truth and weight in the connections between these three characters. Korsten’s
script is simple but there is a remarkable tension in seeing Pia try to get
through the day so she can get away from the place that Colleen and Lauren will
live for the rest of their lives.
Are You
There is very funny
and, at times, surprisingly moving.
- Keith Gow, Theatre First
It’s playing at Theatre Works’ Explosives Factory space until September 13
Photos: Hannah Jennings
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