By Sandi Tighello
Amy (Esther Hannaford) and Burke (Warwick Allsopp)
Sometimes in life, if you’re lucky, you’ll get to witness things that in some way change you for the better. Things that move you so intensely that you’re never quite the same again. The change doesn’t have to be drastic, it doesn’t have to be overtly noticeable, but something inside you is different. It might be an appreciation, an emotion, a sudden calmness.
Last Friday, I changed.
It wasn’t a drastic change, it wasn’t overtly noticeable, but I was moved so intensely that I became suddenly calm, suddenly appreciative and suddenly filled with all sorts of emotions – empathy, happiness and more – that I’ll never be quite the same again.
It was precisely three minutes into Once We Lived Here, a new Australian musical by Mathew Frank and Dean Bryant, when I decided that I really liked the play. It only took a further ten minutes for me to become hooked – to the catchy, original tunes, the wonderful small cast of actors and the entire package that is Once We Lived Here.
The musical focuses on Amy, played by the incredible Esther Hannaford, who runs ‘Emoh Ruo’, the family sheep station in northern Victoria. She’s held on to the property throughout the drought, bushfires and dwindling wool prices but is determined not to let it slip from the family, despite the farm making no money. But when the family gather at the property for a long weekend, dusty secrets and family tales shake the very foundation of the house, and more so the home, that Amy is so desperate to cling on to.
Playing her ailing mother is Sally Bourne, who holds quite a presence on stage. Amy’s brother Shaun is played by the affable Sam Ludeman and her sister, played by Christie Whelan, is hilarious in the role of somewhat ditzy city chick Lecy. Warwick Allsopp brilliantly delivers the character of Burke, the family friend that makes up the fifth member of the cast. The performances are impeccable and the singing, especially by Esther Hannaford, is simply magnificent. Every actor perfectly executes their place in the Macpherson family and earnestly garners the audience’s attention in a story of siblings and family, that shifts during events over the weekend to events ten years earlier.
What I love most about Once We Lived Here is that it is an Australian production – and not afraid to be so. The actors sing, and talk, with Australian accents and simple as it may seem, it makes all the difference in a story that is uniquely Australian. It is funny, touching and utterly mesmerising.
That Friday night I was sitting about six seats down from Geoffrey Rush, an audience member and one of Australia’s great talents, and it reminded me of how incredibly important it is to support our actors, musicians and other creatives, no matter who you are or what you do, because if we don’t then no one else will. I urge you all to see more Australian musicals and plays and films because it’s important that we continue to support the incredible amount of talent this country has. Bryant and Frank, who wrote the musical said that, “new Australian musicals are a bit like farming – something that’s bloody hard to make a living at, but something you love making grow.”
Let’s help them cultivate more.
Once We Lived Here is playing at FortyFive Downstairs in Melbourne until September 20. Tickets can be booked at www.fortyfivedownstairs.com or on (03) 9662 99 66. To learn more about Bryant and Frank visit their website.
Images thanks to Jeff Busby
