I have shivers just writing this article, a dark topic, a heady perfomance . . and a story that is both moving and horrifying in equal measure.

Combat Fatigue is a play developed by Alison Rooke, as part of the “Off the Shelf” program by Queen Street studio. Off the Shelf is an opportunity for writers and directors to hothouse a script that is in the early stages of development whilst strengthening relationships between emerging writers and directors.

Come down, come down to the strawberry patch…A dark incantation, a letter that shouldn’t be read, a blood sacrifice. A golden couple in a toxic city on Valentine’s Day. A husband, an artist, a girl, a murderer with a poet’s heart. A battle for possession of a woman’s soul.

The concept of the “Off the Shelf” program is brilliant, even for the uninitiated layman such as myself.  To explore a script which may have been “shelved” or may be in a seed stage and needs a little bit of time, space and feedback to get to the next phase. And Combat Fatigue has been a key output of this process.

“Off the Shelf” is basically a boiler room for script writing . . . .with top quality brains trust.  NIDA Graduates, award winners, even a member of the Chaser production team. Top notch performers with leading production staff.

Combat Fatigue is topical and tangible. Covering a situation many could fathom and understand. Combat Fatigue talks to the desintegrating relationship of a a married couple who lost their way after losing a child. It is a play about that loss  . . and the impact each character has on the other in the process.

The lyrical, dream-like story follows this turbulent relationship, with it’s characters contending with letters from an oppressive yet poetic killer, shadows of an idealistic past, artistic temperaments and personal tragedy that seems to elude conversation. And it’s all explored in under an hour.

We caught up with Alison as she prepares for tonights performance, and found that story haunted Alison greatly before she brought it out of the drawer and into the real world.

‘Combat Fatigue’ came out of a short piece I wrote when I was part of NIDA’s Playwrights Studio which was about Sam and Pippa the married couple.  It then sat in a drawer for about 12mths. Then I wrote the first draft in a night mainly from sheer frustration as the characters refused to leave me alone; they would appear constantly in other work I was writing… it then sat in a drawer for about 6mths (a pattern of my writing it seems)…

Sheer force of will crowbarred the characters out into the light.

The director Shannon Murphy who I met at NIDA encouraged me to continue developing it, including a moved reading as part of the Imagine Festival at Cleveland Street Theatre in October last year.  The ‘aha’ moment in terms of the script came when I was doing a Playwriting Australia workshop with visiting American playwright Naomi Iizuka – all of a sudden the character Abernathy Carmichael began whispering in my ear and I knew I had a play.  From there Shannon and I continued to work on it and were lucky enough to be accepted into the brilliant ‘Off the Shelf’ residency at Queen Street Studio last November, coordinated by the amazing Augusta Supple and that is where things really clicked.

Even changes in the senior development team would not hinder the creation of this compelling piece. with Shannon Murphy moving on to work on other committments and the new director Ian Zammit came on board.  The project continued it’s development it in between other projects and it is now out there for the world to see at Sydney Fringe.  18 months means a solid, deep and well rounded  . . dark story.

Combat Fatigue is a dark incantation. An exploration of what happens when the honeymoon ends and you begin to play with fire. I was interested in getting underneath the surface of a glamourous couple – the golden Sydney couple.  I wanted to explore how destructive it can be to lose yourself in a relationship and how hard it can be to break out from the expectations of another. The audience can expect a tense drama that is hopefully told in a lyrical way. I hope the audience is challenged and confronted and moved.  It is a simple play about a complex life.  I hope that the aud can feel for the characters of Sam and Pippa and their dilemma.

The play merges the reality of Sam and Pippa’s relationship with the fantasy world Pippa has retreated into after the loss of their child.  An artist who can no longer paint, a wife who is struggling to breathe, she explores her past, her desires and her fears through fantasy and memory…

. . .and then there is Abernathy Carmichael – a poetic killer who wants Pippa, no matter what the cost.

I hope that the audience is both moved and horrified in equal measure.

(Like I said . . . I have shivers just writing about this dark and foreboding piece)

A group of seasoned Professional actors with long resumes . . . was this a fun creative project to all get involved with? What did you like about it most?

The director Ian Zammit has been so fantastic to work with and the atmosphere in the rehearsal rooms has been brilliant.  Because it is a new work the collaborative aspect of honing the script down in rehearsals was great and the script has gone through several minor drafts since we commenced rehearsing.  I have learnt so much as a result of the process and I feel completely honoured to have worked with such an amazing and talented cast, crew and director, who have all given up their time so generously for this project.

We have been so blessed to have such incredible actors come on board.  Naomi Livingstone who plays the role of Pippa is incredible and has just returned from studying at Atlantic Theatre School in New York (formed by William H. Macy and David Mamet) – both her and Salman Shad have been on board the project since last November and have helped me immensely with input. Salman and Naomi are so giving and wonderful to work with. I had the pleasure of working with Bridgette Sneddon on my piece in ‘Stories from the 428′ – she is such a joy and I am having a contract written up that states she has to be in everything I write from now on!

Brett Heath brought his immense experience to the project and has provided some invaluable input and is diabolical as Abernathy and Matt Charleston is my hero – we originally had another actor in the role of Sam, the husband, however he had to leave the project 2 weeks before opening due to an amazing television offer and the wonderful Matt jumped into the breach and saved the day – what he has achieved in two weeks has been incredible.

And Alison shares our love for the Inner West and the Sydney Fringe Festival.

There are not many opportunities for emerging writers to get their new work out there and Sydney Fringe have provided us with a unique opportunity.  There has been a lovely sense of community established over the past few months between all the shows at the venue we are based at (Boiler Room) and especially with fellow Off The Shelf and ‘Stories from the 428′ writers Patrick Lenton (Sexy Tales of Paleontology) and Jasper Marlow (Zetland) – it has been invaluable to have fellow writers to share the experience with and I hope we get to work together again.

The broader independent theatre community has been so supportive as well – Sydney Fringe has been a great experience and I hope I get the chance to see as many other shows as possible over the next week – although I would also like a beer and a little lie down sometime soon…

Combat Fatigue is on at The Boiler Room

Fri 17 Sept 9.30pm, Sat 18 Sept 1.00pm, Wed 22 Sept 9.30pm, Thur 23 Sept 8.00pm

http://sydneyfringefestival.org.au/shows/combat-fatigue

Come down, come down to the strawberry patch…A dark incantation, a letter that shouldn’t be read, a blood sacrifice. A golden couple in a toxic city on Valentine’s Day. A husband, an artist, a girl, a murderer with a poet’s heart. A battle for possession of a woman’s soul.

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