Wife - New Theatre (NSW)

Written by Samuel Adamson

A challenging and enjoyable take on Ibsen's 'A Dolls House' that explores our acceptance of diversity and humanity

Reviewed by Juliana Payne

New Theatre, Newtown

Until 2nd November, 2024

Tickets: https://newtheatre.org.au/wife/

Samuel Adamson’s Wife is a clever play that explores the shifting definitions of marriage, identity, and desire across different generations. With a narrative structure that spans several decades and indeed goes into the future, Adamson weaves together the lives of four couples whose experiences with love and marriage reflect society’s continually evolving attitudes towards gender roles and sexuality.

Adamson's writing has a lot to say, and uses long, rapid-fire, set piece speeches to convey what he wants us to hear. The writing is erudite, filled with rhetorical flourishes and punctuated with hilarious puns or aphorisms. The downside is that it sometimes leaves the other characters standing around with nothing to do. It is rather in the style of Tom Stoppard, that kind of highly intellectual, allusive speechifying that in no way resembles naturalistic drama. So hang on to your hat as the barrage of language and ideas starts almost from the opening lines.

Photography by Bob Seary

The four vignettes that comprise the play each take place in a different decade, and occur after the characters have seen a production of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. The concept and themes of that play form the thematic spine for the current play. It’s not really cheating, as Adamson seems to be portraying what may happen after the famous door-slamming at the end of the original play, chasing down the ‘what ifs’ and ‘why nots’.

The performances are at times uneven between the actors, with some seeming less prepared than others in their roles. They all play numerous parts, and are better at some of their characters than others. Imogen Trevillion gives the most accomplished and consistent performance on the night. Pete Walters gets a raw deal in his first character of the husband, but gets to shine later on. Henry Lopez Lopez also has to grapple with a caricature instead of a full character, but has natural talent and charm to get away with it. Julia Vosnakis seems uncomfortable in her roles at times and I'm sure will warm into it as the run progresses. While some moments feel heavy-handed in their message, there are genuinely moving and often funny bittersweet moments, with surprising moments of connection and freedom.

Visually, the production is designed to look like a gigantic pastel coloured, traditional doll’s house. While it's very literal, the set works well enough in calling attention to the essential theatricality of this play. It’s sometimes not quite clear in navigating the non-linear timeline. Darrin Redgate’s direction can feel a bit static at times, but the pacing is well-managed, ensuring that the sometimes difficult to follow, non-linear timeline is clearer. The direction allows for both intense emotional confrontations and lighter, humorous moments while galloping along quite breathlessly.

See this play if you like an intellectual battle. It offers insightful commentary on how far we’ve come—and how far we still have to go when it comes to the acceptance of our diverse humanity.

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CREATIVES

Director Darrin Redgate

Set Designer David Marshall-Martin

Lighting Designer Jay Murrin

Sound Designer Matthew Forbes

Costume Designers Aibhlinn Stokes & Burley Stokes

Assistant Director Caroline L George

Stage Manager Radhika Lal

ASM Carissa Quintana

Operators Alice-Rose Nolan Lucchetti & Guy Verge Wallace

CAST

Alison Brooker

Henry Lopez Lopez

Will Manton

Imogen Trevillion

Julia Vosnakis

Pete Walters

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