The goal of the Zeal Theatre Company is to produce theatre that ‘deals with the hard edge stuff of life using authentically drawn characters and situations’. Zeal, an Associate Company of the Sydney Theatre Company, succinctly fits this bill with its new production, ‘Burnt’, drawing a vivid and incisive portrait of life, as it is now being lived, in rural Australia.

‘Burnt’ is set in the fictional township of Gilpendry and during the play we get to meet an authentic, colourful cross section of the community including real estate agents, rotarians, Country Women Association members, school teachers, town drunks, local shop owners, Father Spaniel, a veteran dowager called Mrs Snodgrass, and old red-neck pub pensioners.

For its dramatic core, ‘Burnt’ hones in on salt of the earth mid forties farmer George Petro who battles to hold on to his property that he shares with his wife Suzie and their twin children, Kylie and Casey, as the devastating drought wears him down. George’s financial plight becomes so desperate that, in the play’s most challenging scene, George loads a rifle and contemplates suicide.

That this rural world comes across so vividly is an impressive achievement by Zeal theatre company because it is all the creation of just three actors, Tom Lycos, Stefo Nantsou and Lindy Sardelic. They showcase their fine acting and improvisational skills, bringing the vast array of characters very credibly to life.

My favourite characterizations were two of Tom Lycos’s creations; as Toby Satan, the two year old child from hell, who runs spirally amuck at the Munchkins Child Care Centre, and as Casey Petro, manically playing his computer games.

I really enjoyed this production. Right from the start the three performers set the tone for the evening, as they played some gutsy rock music before hooking into the storyline.

This was accessible, informal theatre that felt a little like the playing out of a contemporary version of C.J. Dennis’s larrakin characters.

‘Burnt’, a joint Zeal Theatre Company and Sydney Theatre Company Ed production, played the Wharf 2 theatre for a short season between Tuesday 25th May and Friday 28th May, 2010, following on from a week’s season at the Parramatta Riverside theatre.

25th May, 2010