SYDNEY FRINGE: JOHN & JEN

John & Jen has to be the first tale of sibling rivalry I’ve come across in which Dad really doesn’t have a favourite.

No, the father in this post-WWII musical hates both his children equally.

“It’s a Hansel and Gretel story: he wants them to get lost in the woods,” Benjamin Giraud says of his directorial debut. “But instead rescuing him from the witch, Jen leaves her brother behind, she goes off to live her own life.

“She’s Gretel with a bit more sass, she’s a more selfish Gretel.”

The production stars WAAPA graduate Naomi Livingston as the eponymous Jen, a mother torn between the two Johns in her life, both played by fellow WAAPA alumnus Edward Grey.

In Act I, writers Andrew Lippa and Tom Greenwald introduce us to the little brother Jen swore – and failed – to protect from their abusive father’s influence. In Act II, we meet the son she is desperately afraid to lose.

There is something rather satisfying in the idea that Giraud is crafting a piece about people trying to get away from those they live with – and that every night, when rehearsals wrap up, he heads back to the home he shares with his male lead. (Not to mention, full disclosure, with me.)

As a director, though, Giraud steers clear of pulling rank.
“I don’t see myself as a dictator who’s there to order Ed, or Naomi for that matter, around,” he says. “I like to have a shape in mind, I like to have a few boundaries. But really my job is just to assist the actors in realising their own vision for the work.”

Spanning 1950s suburbia, the Vietnam War and the aggressive pace of 1980s North America, John & Jen treads the line between sombre and moving; funny and heartwarming.

And in true fairytale style, it leaves us with a happily ever after of sorts.
“I think what I’d like people to take away from this is hope,” says Giraud. “Everyone has made decisions that they are unhappy with, but it’s quite beautiful to watch someone who is able to find a way to put them right.”

Sep 20-24, Sidetrack Theatre, 142 Addison Rd, Marrickville, $27, 9020 6980, thesydneyfringe.com.au