KEY POINTS:
This play provides a vibrant introduction to the work of young British writer Jonathan Harvey, acclaimed as one of the brighter stars among a new generation of writers who are equally at home working for stage or screen.
The play achieves considerable impact by taking a determinedly humorous
approach to the subject of Aids. The blend of comedy and pathos is effectively complemented by an audacious theatricality.
The story of a group of friends dealing with the trauma of an Aids death is disrupted by surreal excursions into the celestial realm.
The after-life places the protagonist in a kind of waiting room full of gay icons like Judy Garland, who cruises the heavens in a bathtub while knitting a blanket and dispensing homely advice.
The presence of angels along with the spectre of Aids inevitably recalls Tony Kushner's Angels in America and while Hushabye Mountain is not imitative it displays many of the qualities that make Kushner's work so memorable.
It features over-the-top characters, dazzling, witty dialogue loaded with pop-culture references and a filmic structure with quick-fire scene changes and frequent use of flashbacks.
But Hushabye Mountain is much lighter in tone and deals with a world that has learned to accommodate Aids without abandoning its commitment to hedonism.
Director John Humphries has assembled a talented cast who clearly relish the opportunity to take on Harvey's extravagantly drawn characters.
Linda Cartwright is particularly effective in her celestial appearance as the enigmatic keeper of the stars, and she skilfully breathes life into the somewhat cliched role of a suburban housewife struggling to come to terms with her son's sexuality.
Kristian Lavercombe brings an appealing childlike quality to his portrayal of the central character Danny, and Serena Cotton achieves the right balance of bubbly energy and brisk confidence as an English party girl.
Matt Wilson establishes a forceful presence as a spiky, hardcore raver - though his heavy Cockney accent is artificial and confusingly suggests a different social background to that of his brother's. Gareth Reeves' finely judged portrayal of the brother is played with distinctly middle-class reserve.
The play reaches an explosive climax in a dinner party scene when a chaotic, multi-sided conversation throws up revelations at every turn.
By contrast, the heavenly drama dissolves into a rather disappointing anticlimax which sees the spiritual dimension dismissed as nothing more than an appealing post-modern fantasy.
