By Jordi Roth
It is 2039 in Alice Springs, rainfall is incessant, and fish are a rarity. Musing on a potential reunion between a father and son, Gabriel York edges to the forefront of the stage and with a thud, a fish, like a miracle, falls from the sky.
When the Rain Stops Falling spans four generations and two continents, intertwining the stories of seven characters all tied up in the disappearance of Henry Law (Neil Pigot).
What transpires is an absorbing, sometimes confusing, subtly humorous and powerful revelation of the unravelling eighty years of family secrets, betrayal and lies.
Following Gabriel Law (Yalin Ozucelik) as he attempts to untangle the mysteries surrounding the disappearance of his father, aided by seven recently discovered postcards, the true grittiness of the play begins to unfold, although not without a little confusion as the audience attempts to place the identities of the characters amongst the shifting time and space.
As the play takes the audience on a looping journey through 1950s London and into the future in Australia, it ventures into psychic predictions of the world, a troubling realisation of the irreparable scars cast upon both the earth and humanity by our ancestors. Set against a backdrop of foreboding warnings and dreamlike sequences, the play ambitiously constructs a powerful message of inherited suffering and the suffocation of delicate emotions that are left unexpressed.
Australian playwright Andrew Bovell (whose other credits include Strictly Ballroom and Lantana), has crafted a mesmerising play that ventures into the complexities of family history and struggles with the realisation that life will continue to evolve regardless of our own desires. Confronting and intense, Bovell has again displayed an impressive ability to tell a multifaceted story about ordinary people and the act of human resilience.
The play works most effectively guided along by a sparse backdrop of layered gauze panels and moving images of the Australian desert as the actors brush past each other on stage, perfectly choreographed to reflect the colliding subject matters. It is a considerable challenge given the play transcends time and space and often requires the audience to imagine an interchangeable and overlapping here and now, but it is executed beautifully by designer Hossein Valamanesh.
When the Rain Stops Falling is a testament to the dazzling talent of Australian theatre. There are no loose threads within the cast, as each actor truly inhabits their characters and displays emotional control that aids the production along in its magnetic spell.
Produced by Brink Productions for the 2008 Adelaide Festival, and directed by Chris Drummond, after successful seasons in Adelaide and Sydney it is currently playing at the Melbourne Theatre Company Sumner until November 22nd as part of the Melbourne International Arts festival.
For more information visit mtc.com.au.
