From the Rubble is the first work in the latest theatrical season for Perth Theatre Company. Based on the work of West Australian journalist Sophie McNeill, From The Rubble, is an unflinching and timely examination of the impact of war, conflict and extremism on innocent lives, both young and old.
From The Rubble, as I have come to expect from Perth Theatre Company, is a thought provoking and challenging work – make no mistake this is not the theatrical equivalent of “easy listening”. From The Rubble is the type of work that makes you pause, and will invariably incite plenty of discussion at any post-show dinner or drinks.
For me the work felt more like a series of vignettes than a singular narrative. In many ways I felt it linked back to the original source material, TV news bulletins. We the audience were offered short harrowing updates into the lives of the nameless men, women and children we encounter throughout the production; each bulletin unwaveringly brought to a conclusion in a hail of gunfire or explosions.
One of the strengths of the production is that “the rubble”, the land that these nameless characters live in, can be seen as almost universal location, that these events could just as easily be taking place downtown in a city in Australia as it could in Afghanistan. However with that being said, there is plenty within design that point towards the latter being more likely, with much of the set design depicting a composite or homogenised image of the Middle East.
From The Rubble is in many ways an ambitious piece, not content with simply using actors, Director Mel Cantwell and her production team have woven stop motion animation, video and news reports into the piece. Rather than detracting from the message of the work, I felt these different mediums brought an added dimension to the work, and the sight of animated characters leaving the ruins of their home behind a homemade white flag was no less moving.
From the Rubble has Perth Theatre Company’s season off to a great start; highlighted by some wonderful and nuanced performances from actresses Mei Saraswati, Tina Torobi and Mikala Westall; as well as a beautiful and emotive score from Joe Lui and Mei Saraswati.
From the Rubble runs until March 28th at the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA). The reviewer attended the performance on March 18th.
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