Eurydice, Lexi Sekuless Productions, Mill Theatre at Dairy Road,

 

It's interesting that this is the second Sarah Ruhl play to perform in Canberra this year, after "Dead Man's Cell Phone", and it's also interesting that these are the two plays she's written that are most engaged with death and the afterlife - "Cell Phone" treating it as a farce about a young woman finding her identity as she co-mingles with the history of a stranger, while "Eurydice" is a mythic tragedy about the loss of connections - Ruhl concentrates on elements that aren't normally focussed on in the myth through the eyes of Eurydice, including her reconnection with her departed father and the nature of the underworld where the sense of personal identity is lost and people are forced into isolation. Amy Kowalckzuk's production has beauty as well as melancholy running deep in its soul, from the opening rhapsody of Eurydice and Orpheus's young love, to the distance that opens up when she can't absorb his beloved music as much as he wants, to the distraction of the Nasty Interesting Man, to the persecution of the chorus of Stones, to the compassionate reconnection with her father to the final playing out of the myth in bleak loss. While it's a short play it never feels rushed in its developments, with moments given time to ruminate and impinge on the audience.

It's an astonishingly beautiful production, using the simple device of a two-levelled stage (reflecting surface world and underworld) with parallel movements on each level. Michelle Norris' movement is a highlight throughout, whether it be a ballet of young love, Eurydice's gasp-inducing fall, or the menacing movements of the chorus of stones.Simon Grist's set has just the elements the storytelling needs, and is lit to perfection by Jennifer Wright. 

Alana Dehmam-Preston has grace and impact as Eurydice, a heroine whose heart is as important as her actions - there's a real warmth to her performance that draws the audience in. Blue Hyslop as Orpheus has sweet warmth but also that slight sense of self-regard that makes Orpheus such a frustrating suitor  - their art is always in their head pushing out feelings towards any other. Tim Seukuless as Eurydice's father gives a sweet longing performance, protective and gentle yet fierce in his desire to protect. The chorus of Sarah Hull, Heidi Silberman and Sarah Nathan-Truesdale work well together as blunt forces of reality to stand in the way of these poetic desires, showing glee in the way they can try to break the others down. And Michael Cooper as the Nasty Interesting Man and Lord of the Underworld shows casual whimsy and a blithe carelessness that makes his cruelties even nastier. 

This is a beatuiful, tight and engrossing production that is well worth the seeing.