Review By Gregory Aitken, Actor and Producer
Byron Theatre Company Sets the Stage for Local Stories
The newly created Byron Theatre Company’s premiere show, Displace I Call Home, was a feast for the senses. It marks a new addition to the rich history of locally produced theatre in the region.
Byron Theatre Company is based at the Byron Community Centre and has a mission to be a home for locally produced work. Displace I Call Home was written and directed by local theatre artist Bianca Sirianni.
The Northern Rivers has a rich 30-year tradition of creating original local work. NORPA has long led the pack, producing nationally acclaimed and locally relevant works such as The Cars That Ate Paris in 1995 and more recently Love for One Night Only. Spaghetti Circus’s distinctive style also emerged in the mid-nineties with both small and large productions. The Drill Hall Theatre Company in Mullumbimby continues this tradition with a strong commitment to creating local work and presenting Australian stories. The Bangalow Theatre Company, while known for staging international blockbuster musicals, has also produced Australian works such as The Beast.
This initiative by the Byron Theatre Company is an acknowledgement of both past and present practice. It is a worthy addition to decades of creative activity. The Northern Rivers is possibly the most vibrant hub for new Australian theatre on the east coast of Australia.
Bianca Sirianni’s skills include being a writer, director, actor, singer and administrator. Her passion is to develop new work in collaboration with others. Displace I Call Home was workshopped under the watchful and discerning eye of Liz Chance.
The Byron Theatre is a 200-plus seat amphitheatre, ideal for both epic productions and intimate boutique spectacles. Displace I Call Home had a strong visual and aural style, with production design by Bianca Sirianni - including a striking sculptural centrepiece, a large woven lyrebird nest crafted from local rainforest vines with the support of Michelle Harris and Dane Bodley.
Projections by Victor Holder and technical design by Jake Dix were standout features, and the wide stage provided an excellent canvas for the show’s visuals.
The original workshop text may have been edited to accommodate the production design. The performed script did not linger in the memory - perhaps more indicative than poetic.
The central character, Jacqui, played sympathetically by Sally Davies, has a terminal illness. The play travels back to the past as the protagonist examines her life as death approaches. A crushing pivotal love affair with her professor while a university student produces a child.
It was apparent early in the scene that the professor was probably a married bounder out for a good time rather than a long time. Tom Davies was more comfortable playing Jacqui’s son, possibly because the writing had more nuance.
Noa Rotem moved between playing the roles of the oncologist and the lyrebird with the creative assistance of Hielrick D’Amour’s video images and Waangenga Blanco’s choreography. The quick changes into the mystical lyrebird’s elaborate costume impressed.
Sirianni’s strength is in blending physical theatre, poetic text and the soundscape, with the stunning mood of the piece created through Dix’s lighting and Holder’s projection design. The theme of confronting life’s dangers was very close to being successful.
With this production, the Byron Theatre Company has produced an excellent template for future home-grown shows. The Byron Theatre could well become the nucleus for new local work, in its own way combating American cultural colonialism. The best way of doing that is to produce quality regional art.
Displace I Call Home is a welcome addition to the theatre history of quality locally produced performing arts. I look forward eagerly to their next production and the following ones.
By Gregory Aitken, Actor and Producer
About Gregory Aitken
Following eight years at NORPA, Gregory was appointed to coordinate the building of the new Byron Community Centre in 2002. The co-ordination involved liaising between the architect, the Byron Community Centre Committee, Glenziel the builders and the Byron Shire Council, as well as organising the management of the building project finances. From 2002 to 2008 Gregory was the initial Venue Manager and programmer of the Byron Community Centre and Theatre.
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