The Return at Maidment Studio Theatre

Emmeline Hawthorne and Benn Barrington star in The Return. Picture / Jonathan Pilkington

It's a stifling hot August day when Emmeline Hawthorne arrives at the Silo Theatre, slips off her heels and collapses on a couch in the dark recesses of the old building.

She looks "corporate" in a red blouse, grey slacks and heels - a costume, of sorts, she wears for her part-time office job, where she was recently reminded of the dress code.

Not that she's complaining - she's happy with the flexible hours and wages between acting gigs - but the mild rebuke proves what she says about her latest role: We judge by appearances.

This is central to The Return in which Hawthorne plays a conservative-looking young law student who boards a suburban train and finds herself in a carriage with two thugs.

What will unfold seems tragically obvious as the two bored young men fix on the seemingly vulnerable girl - but little is as it seems in this psychological thriller.

As the night-time journey continues, the line between victims and aggressors becomes increasingly blurred.

"It's about challenging the perceptions we have about ourselves and the world, at the same time as looking at how we construct our identities and the inconsistencies that come with trying to exist in a modern society," says Hawthorne.

"You could say it goes right back to the idea that the veneer of civilisation is very thin."

Quite - just ask the folks of New Orleans.

Written by Australian Reg Cribb, The Return debuted in Sydney before making its way to Perth and a slew of theatre awards and nominations.

Like many Australian works, a vein of black humour courses through it, but director Heath Jones, Hawthorne and fellow cast member Fraser Brown are divided on its humour.

Jones says the writing is heavy on Australian vernacular and while there is a humorous element in certain portrayals, he wouldn't call it comedy. Brown says it's a "black, black comedy".

As founder of the theatre company A Lethal Set, Jones says the toughest job is finding material that will appeal to a broadening group of theatre-goers.

He originally wanted the rights to another Australian play but lost out to an Auckland company that secured those three days before he inquired. Instead, he read several scripts and knew The Return was the one as soon as he started leafing through it.

"The characters formed instantly in my mind. I started to think about who could play the roles, and for me, if I can start to create those pictures I know it's good.

"Finding good material is one of the most difficult things about having a theatre company and generating theatre. You have to connect to the material and you can read so much before you do."

That The Return is Australian had little to do with its appeal. Jones says it could be set anywhere, including Auckland. If, chimes in Brown, it had a rail system with late-night trains.

What: The Return
Where and When: Maidment Studio Theatre, Sep 14-Oct 1