The premise of Greta intrigued me from the outset. I have often found myself, after a particularly stirring night in the theatre, pondering the fates of the characters in whose intimate company I have spent the last few hours. Greta appears to have grown from a very similar seed of curiosity after director Luke Butler and playwright George Kemp worked together on a production of Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis at university.
For those unfamiliar with the original text, which was written in 1915, here is a quick overview – Metamorphosis centres on a young salesman named Gregor Samsa who one day undergoes an inexplicable transformation from man to insect. Shunned by his parents, his main source of comfort and support is his younger sister, Greta. It is she who feeds and cares for him up until his untimely demise.
Fascinated by how an extraordinary experience like this would impact upon an ordinary family, and an ordinary girl, Butler and Kemp began imagining a second chapter – re-envisioning Kafka’s modern classic from Greta’s perspective and picking up from where the first text left off to create an altogether new story. In this latest production from independent theatre company Free Association, Greta has us all to herself.
In a way the play is something of a ‘Where Are They Now?’ special – we are meeting Greta six years after the unusual series of events that claimed her brother and fractured her family, and meeting her at a time in her life when she is undergoing a transformation of her very own. Transformation was a key element in the original play – a frightening, uncontrollable and disorienting force that brought about a tragic end. Kemp’s eloquent and poetic script cleverly plays with the same theme but in Greta’s story transformation offers instead a chance for freedom and happiness as Greta emerges from her dark little family cocoon to take on the world.
At the heart of the production is Lizzie Cater’s thoughtful, engaging performance as Greta. She carries the audience confidently and energetically through the story, excelling particularly, I felt, in the subtler moments of introspection and confession. (I personally wanted some of these moments to linger longer.)
Her tale is punctuated by a series of slide projections, which she operates as she speaks, and underscored by folk musicians Portable Junk, who perform their original compositions live on stage. Music, in fact, plays an integral part in Greta’s story – it leads her to the Conservatorium of Music, where she hopes to one day play violin, and to other unexpected developments along the way. The live score runs almost uninterrupted under the action – in turns whimsical, seductive, suspenseful, charting the emotional swells of the story. I think the only danger with accompaniment of this kind is that it has the potential to intrude upon the storytelling, to dictate rather than support the natural rhythms of the words, but for the most part the music is a welcome supporting player.
The set and costume design is simple and effective, focusing our attentions squarely onto the skills of the actor and the rich imagery in the script. On opening night the lighting was unfortunately patchy – presumably the result of having such a rapid turnover of festival shows all relying on the same rig – but hopefully these lighting issues will be resolved for the remainder of the run so that we don’t lose our leading lady in the shadows.
All in all, Free Association delivered a very warming, imaginative, musical night in the theatre. Keep an eye on these guys. I have a feeling this won’t be the last we’ve heard from them!
REMAINING PERFORMANCES
Sunday 19 – 8:45pm
Saturday 25 – 8:45pm
Sunday 26 – 6:15pm
@ The Newtown Theatre, Cnr Bray St & King St
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