A STEADY RAIN
After devising and performing in the 2012 original Great Lie of the Western World, actor Michael Booth has bravely turned to a ‘cover,’ Keith Huff’s 2007 A Steady Rain. Part The Wire and part Sopranos, the play concerns the tribulations of two Chicago cops after a call-out goes seriously awry. Based on a real-life event involving serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, its 2009 turn on Broadway starred Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman. Infamously, one staging found the usually unruffled Aussie turn on an audience member who let their phone ring in the middle of a pin-drop scene.
In this Cathode Ray Tube production, which boasts BBC Top Gear’s Owen Trevor in the director’s seat, the Chicago-trained Booth plays Denny, with Sam O’Sullivan as Joey. Booth is a thoughtful actor who is not averse to throwing out heady phrases like ‘nominal determinism’ when we touch on his obsession with acting. His early years were inspired by De Niro and Brando and these models seem apt for his role of the hardened policeman. To create the persona, Booth worked from the outside in, staring with the accent. The challenge, according to the actor, was to play aspects of a character that he would never experience in his own life.
Considering the plot, we’re not surprised.
Nov 20-Dec 8, TAP Gallery, 278 Palmer St, Darlinghurst, $17-30, bit.ly/BookASteadyRain
