Innovative theatre challenges both the performers and the audience

The cast of An Oak Tree (from left): Mandy Faulkner, Gaye Poole, John Davies, Mary Rinaldi, Nick Clothier, Missy Mooney. Photo / Supplied

An Oak Tree by Tim Crouch
Presented by: Carving in Ice
At The Meteor, Hamilton. Director: Gaye Poole.
Reviewed by: CATE PRESTIDGE

It's always exciting to see local theatre groups presenting innovative theatre that challenges both the performers and the audience.

Over the past 15 years, Gaye Poole's Carving in Ice has been committed to presenting contemporary and provocative works. Their latest production, An Oak Tree, is no exception.

Devised in 2005 by British experimental theatre writer and performer Tim Crouch, this two-hander has at its core a universal theme - a study of humanity. It also has a unique device as only one of the actors knows the storyline and so the play unfolds with the mechanism of script and action exposed.

Our main character is The Hypnotist, played superbly by the very experienced Richard Homan. A somewhat diminished figure professionally, The Hypnotist is totally in command of the action in the dual role of character, actor and director of action.

Homan manages both the audience and his co-star with dexterity and shifts between being affable, warm, supportive and then not-so-much.

The second actor, having never seen the script, is tasked with the role of The Father. This performer follows The Hypnotist's cues and prompts, revealing plot and character in a way I found surprisingly emotional and moving.

To make the device work, a different performer is cast in the role of Second Actor each night. In this season six local actors have stepped up to the challenge: Missy Mooney, Nick Clothier, Mary Rinaldi, Mandy Faulkner, John Davies and Liam Hinton. In this show, it's the turn of well-known local actor Nick Clothier, who brings skill, warmth and believability to the role.

The emotional impact of this play comes partly because of the subject at its centre but the intensity is amplified as the audience discovers things at the same time as the second actor. It is exciting to be thrown into our responses together as the story unfolds.

Later my friend and I discuss the different ways we reacted to The Hypnotist and how our suspension of disbelief, despite all the mechanisms of the show being on display, was undiminished.

Gaye Poole has worked with multiple actors to prepare Homan for this role, and it is exciting to see this show staged here.

The metaphor behind the name Carving in Ice is an aspiration to leave audiences with an impression of the experience, long after the physical form has gone. I think they've achieved it. Take the challenge and get along.

• An Oak Tree runs until Saturday June 18, more info here.