‘Arlington’ looking to bring something new to Australian theatre
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How do you sell a play that has been described as ‘dystopian’ and ‘Orwellian’ to an audience?
Arlington is from the pen of the prolific Irish playwright Enda Walsh and tells the story of a young woman, Isla, who is being monitored from an adjoining room by a young man with no name.
A connection emerges between the two, and we found out that Isla has been in the room since she was four, visiting the past and dreaming of a future.
The drama is interrupted by a twenty minute dance that mimics the fate of the prisoners, as Isla is not alone, for the towers in which she lives have replaced towns and cities as we know them.
But there is redemption as Arlington’s director Anna Houston says: “The New York Times described (Arlington) as an episode of Black Mirror done by Beckett, and I think that is the perfect description because it describes the elements of the play that are dystopian, but also it’s incredibly funny and tender.”
The play’s origin
Enda Walsh first came to the theatre world’s attention in 1996 with his breakout film script from his play Disco Pigs, an Irish coming of age romance crime film starring Cillian Murphy and Elaine Cassidy.
Since then Walsh has written on average two plays and/or scripts a year, including Lazarus: The Musical for David Bowie and Hunger for Steve McQueen, which starred Michael Fassbender as the IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands.
“Enda Walsh’s writing for me is dizzying in every way because he uses language to create a very specific tone that is unlike any other playwright I have encountered,” Houston said.
“He uses language to take you inside a character’s experience and he uses language to build worlds and push storyline in ways that are continually surprising.”
Arlington’s world is a chance for Australian theatre to explore one which goes against our usual texts that are grounded in naturalism or realism.
“I was tempted to approach this play in the same way, but then you meet characters that have no names and meet this language which is often incredibly sparse or dizzyingly verbose and poetic and you realise that the rules of realism do not apply,” Houston said.
Creative decisions behind Arlington
The set for Arlington comprises of two spaces next to each other in conversation and will incorporate projection and live video feeds.
“What our designer Kate Beere and lighting director Aron Murray has managed to do with this space is astonishing,” Houston said.
“Sometimes in independent theatre you are working on a shoestring but what they have achieved belies anything you might expect.”
Arlington stars Greek/Australian actress Phaedra Nicolaidas who was in the same year at NIDA as Houston.
“She has spent the last two decades between Sydney and Greece and it is amazing to have her back on the Sydney stage,” Houston said.
Jack Angwin plays the unnamed young man “ and he is one of those actors who has such deep craft and yet brings so much heart to everything and is beautiful to watch,” Houston said.
Houston is also looking forward to working with Frayed actress Georgia Symes saying “ she is one of the few actors who is able to be incredibly fun and deeply moving, all within a few seconds.”
Choreographer and dancer Emma Harrison is a WAAPA graduate who spent much of the past year in regional theatre in the Lost Boys and Houston welcomes her multi-disciplinary capabilities.
“Her practice straddles a lot of different art forms and she is an amazing dramaturge, writer and theatrical performer in her own right,” Houston said.
Arlington is looking like one of the highlights of an already amazing year in Sydney’s theatrical calendar and demand for its season in the Seymour’s intimate Reginald Theatre is expected to be high.
Arlington, 2nd – 24th August
Reginald Theatre, Seymour Centre
https://www.seymourcentre.com/event/arlington/
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