The first production for this year of Wharf 2Loud, a program wing of the Sydney Theatre Company, was Michel Vinaver’s play ‘Dissident, Goes Without Saying’, adapted and directed by Andrew Upton.

Vinaver’s play starts with Helene and her son Philippe live together in a tiny apartment. Helene is a working mother. Phillipe is unemployed and spends his time lounging around at home playing records.The atmosphere is claustrophobic. The two are stuck with each other, forever, it would seem. Until one day when Phillipe announces he has a job.mFor a while, they have money. The Helene starts to suspect something is wrong. Phillipe has begun to disengage from their relationship.-He has nondescript friends and is moving away from her emotionally.

The play took place over twelve scenes. All the action is contained within Ralph Myers austere, symbolic set.

Andrew Urban’s directional style was confronting. This was the world of two people, a mother and son, trapped in the life of the underclass. As much as they try to break out of the mould, they find themselves dragged back into it.

What I took away most from the night was the intensity of the performances, in a show that ran just fifty minutes.
Victoria Longley’s portrayal of Helene was edgy, desperate. Brendan Cowell’s portrayal of Phillipe was highly charged and multi-layered,; a volatile, insecure, ratty young man.

The show’s pace was unrelenting and came to a screeching climax. This ‘Dissident’ was an uncompromising, contemporary night in the theatre.