THEATRE: BONDI DREAMING

Growing up in Indonesia while also calling Australia home, made Sam Atwell (of Home and Away fame) experience conflicting feelings when he heard about the Bali Nine.

“I was amazed that anyone would knowingly commit a crime in country where it clearly states that the penalty is death, but then I was infuriated by reading opinion polls where it stated that the majority of Australians were keen to wash their hands of the nine,” Atwell said.

He felt saddened by the pictures of the apprehended and their family and friends; and continued to be affected when convicted smuggler, Van Nguyen was hung. He said it seemed “surreal” that his life went on as normal while a fellow Australian was killed.

“Opinions were forming but I wasn’t quite sure what they were so I sat down to write the play with a number of questions in my head,” he said.

The result is Bondi Dreaming. It’s a play about three Australian men from Blacktown who make the biggest mistake of their lives and end up on death row in an overseas prison. Due to their fate, they escape their reality through their imagination and memory, hoping to find a way to come to terms with their past and future.

Atwell aims to ask the audience the same questions he asked himself regarding issues of mateship, masculinity and madness.

“A lot of the action from the play comes from me trying to answer what would happen to my mind if my body was confined,” he said.

“I wondered where my thoughts would travel and how would that affect the way I related to other people. How would I escape?”

Bondi Dreaming also offers a humanitarian message, which is based on treating others as you would treat yourself and those you love.

“We look at love, its importance and what happens without it. The characters constantly search for redemption from each other and also from themselves,” he said.

These themes are possibly bound to Atwell’s opposition to the death penalty. He felt that it removed a criminal’s opportunity for repentance, but also for the victims to understand the crime and move on. He believes in forgiveness, redemption and the sanctity of human life.

But when asked if he thought the characters would have felt remorse if they had gotten away with the crime, Atwell doesn’t seem sure and ultimately, poses more questions.

“Again, it’s different for each character in the play, but certainly a couple of them think deeply about doing what they do before they go ahead and do it,” he said.

“Unfortunately for them they found it difficult to communicate their original concerns and this is part of what leads to their ultimate demise. They aren’t angels, but does this mean they deserve to die?”

Sept 16-Oct 10, Seymour Centre, cnr City Rd & Cleveland St, Chippendale,  $20-34, 9351 7940 or seymour.usyd.edu.au