Flinders University Drama Centre. Matthew Flinders Theatre. 6 Aug 2025
This writer’s creative history is deeply embedded in the 12 excerpts of major theatre works and writers of the last 64 or so years. Works Adelaide championed as a national leader of theatre culture and history in Australia and form the body of this anthology production.
The Shock of The New is one the most unique innovations in theatre production in Adelaide. It is memoir, history book, creative challenge, and road map for the future, from a rich past of success and pitfalls.
Starting with Patrick White’s 1962 Season of Sarsparilllia by University of Adelaide Theatre Guild and concluding with Mathew Whittet’s 2014 Girl Asleep by Windmill Theatre Company and Adelaide Festival of The Arts, this work charts theatre daring to expose, challenge and celebrate Australia as it actually is. Expose and demystify taboos. Offer alternatives to how we can live and be instead of suffering under the hammer of regressive forces. Reimagining theatre form itself.
Director Chris Drummond and cast certainly have their work cut out for them. Creating a scene-to-scene narrative that builds an over arcing story. Giving life to the essence each play sought to express in a single scene. Dress it in a manner allowing smooth transitions.
Such challenge is brilliantly met.
Designer Kathryn Sproul and Lighting Designer Mark Pennington keep it simple and effective. Basic set furniture and props. Basic back wash lighting and focus spots. Transition from scene to scene, world view to world view, it is so swift you have to catch your breath. Thankfully, Drummond and cast has added inter scene dialogue setting the social and political reality of the times between blocs of scenes.
Drummond’s cast, Flinders Drama Centre Graduating Actors, work and achieve almost the impossible in getting to the core of each play’s truth in a two-act structure. Plays in most cases they were too young to have seen or known. Plays with roles played by actors—at the time—at the top of their game and made forever memorable. Expect to see more out there in the world from Eliza Barnes, Rohan Becker Ariel Dzino, Liam Hennessy, Alexander Karytinos, Isiah Macaspac, Abigail McDougall, Hannah McGrath, and Shardae Santos.
All nine actors offered work of the highest standard. Jumping from one world view to another in mere seconds and minutes. Juggling equally fast costume changes. Offering an intensity of focus in performance without loosing a single beat or line. Holding their audience with absolute authority and assuring the conceptual edge of each piece hit home. Knowing how to play the drama and humour with subtlety demanded by each text.
This writer’s memory was totally jogged. Was gifted a sense of lived theatre history affirming anew why they are part of the arts. Offered a new angle on considering where the future might lie.
Whatever life background anyone in the audience may have, they were blessed with a powerful work offering questions still relevant today from each scene’s different emphasis, An experience with unquestionably loving heart to it.
It would be greatly pleasing to see this remounted. More need to see it. It’s too unique to retire to a place in history yet.
David O’Brien
When: 6 to 9 August
Where: Matthew Flinders Theatre
Bookings: Closed
