The story behind this play about 9/11 is perhaps more interesting than the play itself. Written by New Yorker Anne Nelson in the months immediately following the bombing of the Twin Towers, the plot seems intriguing: a writer and a fire captain get together because he is in desperate need of eulogies – probably 365 of them if truth be told – and we get four in the play – all based on transcripts from the conversations between the two of them.
The back story is that actor Adam T. Perkins who plays the Fire Captain Nick on stage was in New York during 9/11 and was in fact our own Aussie hero as a ‘first responder’ volunteer medic (known as a ‘tunnel rat’, he helped out by burrowing beneath the rubble and trying to locate people). Perkins is not only a superb actor, but has also produced this play to ensure it reaches a wider audience and not just its off-Broadway sector, which includes renowned actors such as Bill Murray and Sigourney Weaver. Perkins’ background makes his performance – already touching – incredibly authentic.
Something seems to be missing from other parts of this production, however. The writer character Joan played by Anna Bennetts, is somewhat laboured in her spoken sentimentality – perhaps the poignancy about loss and grieving and the multitudes of dead could have been expressed differently. It felt at times as though, in her direct addresses to the audience, she could have been less dogmatic about how we might feel about grief. This problem is more a reflection of the writing than the acting. Indeed, both actors have received a Performing Arts WA nomination for best actor in their work in this show.
The most powerful aspects of the play are in the storytelling – the author is right that the stories of the Fire Captain need to be told (although I’m not sure we need to be told that – showing is far better than telling). This is where the piece really comes to life. Adam T Perkins excellently portrays the confused lost machismo of his character without losing any tenderness and love expressed for his dead cohort of men. What seems so poignant is the exploring of the everyday nature of people’s working lives in the midst of so-called heroism. The writing about Bill and Flatbed Avenue and the colloquial language of the fire crew makes this piece come alive.
Some repetition in the narrative could be improved, although the interludes where the couple dance the tango provide some much needed contrast. When the Fire Captain comes out to announce the final eulogy, his uniform gives legitimacy to notions of authority on the spot lit stage, and his reference to how we depend on our tools is the best illustration of what I enjoy about the everyday beauty of our working lives against the bigger picture of life and death.
Rating: 3½ out of 5 stars
The Guys
Written by Anne Nelson
Performed by Anna Bennetts and Adam T Perkins.
Directed by Paula Coops
Subiaco Theatre Centre, Hamersley Road, Subiaco
Perth Independent Theatre Festival
www.subiacoartscentre.com.au
12 – 15 March
