With her scripts for Mabo and Brides of Christ, Australian writer Sue Smith has never shied away from controversial or important topics. In her new play Kryptonite, which premiered this week in Sydney as a co-production between the Sydney Theatre Company and the State Theatre Company of South Australia, Smith tackles the relationship between Australia and China, seen through the guise of the 25 year relationship between Dylan (Tim Walter) and Lian (Ursula Mills).
Approaching their story through a non-linear narrative, Smith puts her actors through their paces as they move between different points of the last 25 years – a story that takes us from the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, as seen from Australia, through the Beijing Olympics and to the present day. The changes in time are firstly represented by one of the actors writing the year on the wall in a paint that disappears before your eyes, secondly in costume and thirdly – and perhaps most importantly – in performance. Walter and Mills transform effortlessly and masterfully from University students – one a typical Australian “bloke” from the Northern Beaches, giving early precedence to the “nudity warning”, and the other a struggling Chinese student working and studying in Australia – into a modern day politician and business woman, carrying 25 years of history with them.
The turns the actors make is nothing short of extraordinary, and though the strong script and direction from Geordie Brookman is indeed to thank in part, our ability to invest in their story does rest solely on their shoulders. And through them, the wit of the masterful script is given the treatment it deserves. Smith weaves us through the highs and lows of any relationship; with this one being anything but conventional and notably political. There is true humour in the interplay between Dylan in Lian, playing on some stereotypes of both countries, though when things get derogatory in some of the more heated moments – cleverly referenced through a certain quote from Kevin Rudd and typically racist Daily Telegraph covers – it’s done with purpose and ultimately shines a mirror on ourselves and the general state of Chinese-Australian relations. An often uneasy one, predicated primarily by a lack of understanding between the two cultures, and the differences in ideals that stem from our backgrounds.
It’s a contextual balance that would have been difficult to achieve – and we’ve all seen it go the other direction – but Smith and the cast have handled the topic masterfully here. Impressive even more so when you discover Ursula does not speak Mandarin (something those who are well trained in the dialect will probably pick up on… but for the rest of us you’d never know…), despite utilizing the language throughout the play.
As the story jumps across time and space, ultimately taking us back to where it all began, with a 90 minute story free of interval that goes by in a flash. You are transfixed by the unpredictable story and their performances from start to finish. Though incredibly dense, layered and full of intent, Kryptonite is by no means a pretentious play. The story is easy enough to follow, and the way it comes together at the end is truly a clever moment in storytelling. And a sign of any good play is that you leave the theatre asking questions about its ending. Smith leaves just enough to your imagination to make it a continuing conversation. And with China seen as “our future”, these are important conversations that we need to have, especially in the midst of current headlines about exports and mining, which are addressed here.
From a production point of view, Kryptonite is also hard to flaw. Wharf 1’s stage is used skillfully, with masterful lighting design by Nicholas Rayment – particularly during the important scene that takes place during the Beijing Olympics – taking our characters from Canberra to Sydney and all the way to China, with total conviction, highlighting the play’s most emotive moments along the way. A special mention must be made to the disappearing paint, the floor lighting (pictured above) and a moment of reveal at the end which I won’t spoil here.
With Sue Smith’s flawless script and two performers who give it the life it deserves, under elegant staging and excellent direction from Geordie Brookman, Kryptonite is undoubtedly one of the finest Australian plays in recent memory. But in its handling of an often controversial (not to mention hard to tackle) subject matter – with a perfect balance of humour and the grace of human fragility – I believe Kryptonite has set itself up as an important play as well. The sort we’ll be hearing about for years to come – and that’s certainly a result it deserves.
————
Kryptonite is currently in performances at the Wharf 1 Theatre, where it will remain until 18th October, 2014. For tickets and more details head to: https://www.sydneytheatre.com.au/whats-on/productions/2014/kryptonite
Photo Credit: Lisa Tomasetti
