After catching shows at Westacre Theatre for a long while now, it’s about time we spotlight the theatre on the blog. Where better to start than Alan Keatley’s Alligators, which received rave reviews at Westacre last year. It’s back once more for those who missed out, or want to experience it again!
The story follows Daniel Turner who’s a well regarded school teacher who loves his job and his life in general. However, serious allegations from the past school where he taught come to light, which puts strain on his family, including his wife, Sally, and two kids.
Serious themes are at play here, covering sexual assault, the impact of allegations on the victim and alleged perpetrator, and the wider impact the media play in spreading narratives. The way the script weaves these themes together very much asks a question of the audience as well. What would you do if your deep, dark secrets were exposed without your consent? How would you judge those with allegations against them, despite no court driven guilty verdict?
The play is a long one and coupled with those themes, you feel somewhat exhausted coming out of it (not in a bad way!). There’s a lot to digest, and that runtime is mostly earned. Daniel has a few revelations about his personal life that show the dangers of exposing secrets. The script puts a few of those in, when perhaps the initial one put that point across. This may have trimmed the runtime a little bit.
This is nothing Westacre are at fault for, nor is it a huge concern. Their production, directed by Matt Grist, was simply masterful, with an immersive, all round experience as audiences sit either side of the staging area. The set consists of the Turners’ living room, where we get an intimate look at how day to day family life is tested. This is a very personal story, and the intimate atmosphere at West Acre works perfectly for it.
I wish we could find a full cast list, but all the cast were terrific and clearly lost themselves in their roles. Rachael Cummins portrays Rachel, Daniel’s lawyer, in a very steadfast manner. There is an evolution throughout the show though, as we see a more ‘robotic’ character (as Daniel refers to her) open up more to Daniel, and also exhibit frustration at things he’s not disclosed to her.
Matt Grist plays Daniel brilliantly. You can see the transformation throughout the show, as Daniel starts off as happy with life, and slowly becomes more dishevelled as the police investigation becomes more serious. Grist really captures how Daniel feels like he’s losing control, and it was a tough watch seeing Daniel’s outbursts against his wife, Sally. Camilla Falconbridge does an excellent job conveying the confusion, frustration, and despair Sally feels while trying to maintain the facade for their children. There’s a particularly harrowing scene as Sally confronts Daniel on secrets he had kept from her after years of marriage. Together, Grist and Falconbridge have great chemistry and portray the personal toll the allegations have with great intensity.
A massive shout-out to all of the cast and crew, in making this show as fiercely immersive and intense as it is. It’s a pity the run is over, and I hope Alligators will return again for fresh audiences in future.
Chris.
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