THEATRE: NYUNTU NGALI
“Sniff him! As good as Caltex!”, “Our own little Petrol Head!” Eva and Roam gush over their new born and Petrol, our narrator remarks, “Teenage parents – just my luck.” It’s the 25th Century and it seems that being alive is just anyone’s luck really. Watching the story of Petrol’s parent’s teenage (and forbidden) love and his birth, we learn that unrequited love belonged to Adam and Juliet and that Vodka Cruisers were as dignified to teenagers as Martinis were to Bond. Notions of ‘City Dreaming’ and ‘Welcome to City’ become real as populations relocate to the desert when their coastal cities become toxic and take up the ways of the Pitjantjatjara community to survive. Part of the STC’s Ed 2010 program, Nyuntu Ngali, has encouraged, “A new way of working across cultures without restrictive and fear-based creative boundaries,” says director Scott Rankin. The themes addressed in this modern morality play are intricate but they’re addressed with irony and humour. The design is rich in symbolism, as is the use of multimedia and traditional sand pattern drawings and the cast and musicians do a great job entertaining and igniting your imagination.
Until May 14, Sydney Theatre Company Pier 4, Hickson Rd, Walsh Bay, $25-31, 9250 1777, www.sydneytheatre.com.au
