For many years I lived in a beautiful but haunted part of Sydney, Watsons Bay. My next door neighbour was a retired local police sargeant. We used to chat often. Les told me that the worst part of his job was when he was called to Watsons Bay after someone had jumped off the Gap.
He and a few of his station colleagues, as well as members of the Police Rescue Squad, were left with the gruesome task of salvaging the usually deceased’s body from the bottom of the Gap.
He told me that people jumping over the Gap had become such a frequent event that it has long been a practice for these suicides to not be disclosed to the media.
Sydney Jewish playwright Brian Fine sets his play at the Gap at sunset. Reuben, a young Jewish man, is at the cliff’s edge, trying to summon up the courage to force his body off the cliff. Jiga, a middle-aged indigenous man, is walking along the Gap path and spots Reuben. He goes over to him and starts to try talking him out of it.
At first, Reuben tells him to fuck off. Jiga persists and manages to turn Reuben’s mind enough so that he pulls back from the cliff face. Jiga has a heart to heart with Reuben and eases out of him, what is troubling him.
Reuben is the young adult son of a Rabbi. He is gay, and finds it too torturous to come out to his conservative father. This is the crux of what has brought him to the cliff’s edge.
Brian Fine’s play is at an early stage. Moira Blumenthal Productions, Australia’s premiere Jewish Theatre Company, invited a select audience along to the ARA Theatre in Darling Harbour to see a staged reading of the play.
After the performance, the two actors, Frederick Copperwaite and Doron Chester, the director Tim McGarry, and Artistic Director Moira Blumenthal, took chairs on stage and opened up things for a general discussion.
Moira started by emphasing the work in progress nature of the play, As it stands ‘Bridging The Gap’ runs little over thirty minutes and will need to be fleshed out substantially before it could be considered for production.
There was discussion as to whether, in these more enlightened times, a Rabbi would be expected to take such a hard line against gays. There are many gays living happily within the Jewish community and they are respected by religious leaders.
An audience member questioned why the actor playing the indigenous character wasn’t Aboriginal for the sake of authenticity. The reply was immediate; the actor declared his proud Aboriginality, and that he was from a tribe out of Western Australia! There is much more to Aboriginality than how dark one’s colour skin is.
The discussion wrapped and Moira thanked everyone for coming. As we filed out of the theatre, very conscious of Covid spacing, my thoughts went to how great it was to be in a theatre again and better still to have a fruitful discussion.
Brian Fine’s ‘Bridging The Gap’ played for only two performances, 3pm and 7pm, on Wednesday 14th October, 2020 at the ARA Quarter Theatre, Terrace 3, 1-25 Harbour Street, Sydney.