Circa Theatre
June 30-July 28 | Reviewed by Helen Sims

IN ENGLISH theatre tradition, a dumb show is a masque-like interlude of silent pantomime usually with allegorical content that refers to the occasion of a play or its theme, the most famous being the pantomime played out in Hamlet. Although Penhall’s script is far from silent, I suppose that it is what is not being said; the reading between the lines, that is most important in this play. The Melbourne Theatre Company’s production of Dumb Show was described in The Age as a “tabloid immorality play”, tackling the themes of media corruption and emptiness. In the playwright’s own words, Dumb Show is “about what happens in the absolute absence of compassion, where society is becoming a vacuum devoid of any real empathy and sympathy, where the only thing that’s left is an utterly plasticized, platitudinous and prurient tabloid sentimentality.”

The play is tightly structured and revolves around the fast paced exchanges between ‘John’ and ‘Jane’, swanky private bankers, and Barry, a television entertainer whose star is fading. Their power dressing with accents of fiery red (for her lips and talons; for him tie and pocket square) contrasts nicely with Barry’s muted and dated attire. Barry also looks slightly out of place in the posh hotel room the ‘bankers’ have arranged to meet him in – this is more their arena than his, and his discomfort shows. In the first 20 minutes of the play one wonders what the point of this play is, as the characters fix a deal that will secure to Barry the baubles of fame he feels he deserves. The message seems to be revealed several times – we are living in a “world of hollow laughter”, in which that which we find funny or entertaining seems to be increasingly bizarre. Entertainment, especially television, presents human beings with an alternate reality which we have embraced to the point where as a media saturated race we are no longer interested in reality, only with distorting it. These points are emphasized in the twist 35 minutes in (I won’t spoil it, but it’s safe to say you’ll see it or something like it coming) and then rammed home by the last 40 minutes.

The motivations of each character become increasingly complex, yet I felt very little connection or empathy with any of the characters. Perhaps this is part of Penhall’s point, but by failing to make us really care about any of the characters it is easy to loose interest. This becomes most obvious in the final scene of the play, in which an attempt is made at atonement and capturing an emotional heart to the story, but to be honest the previous 90 minutes doesn’t really allow for this to ring true, focusing instead on the power shifts between the three characters as “true” identities are revealed.. I wouldn’t lay the blame for this at the feet of the actors, (Stephen Gledhill, Jessica Robinson and Gavin Rutherford) all three of whom turn in excellent performances, even if the rhythms felt slightly off on opening night. This may get better as the season progresses, as this is a script that demands perfect timing. Instead it is the fault of a script that largely sacrifices character development in favour of theme and some rather static direction.

Overall, this is a solid, if uninspiring production, which is a shame given the subject matter Penhall is interrogating. It is well served by its actors and technical design team, but in the end the play feels too “willfully manipulative” and artificial for a play that has the exposition of human behaviour at its heart.

See also:
» Dumb Show (Reviewed by Melody Nixon)