Tommy Murphy’s stage adaptation of Nevil Shute’s 1957 novel ON THE BEACH is the latest production to be put on by our state’s flagship theatre company.

Shute’s novel was famously made in to a Hollywood movie the following year with an A list cast headed by Gregory Peck, Ava Garner and Fred Astaire. Director Stanley Kramer actually made the film in Australia, a rarity at the time.

The short story to Shute’s science fiction novel is that it is set in Melbourne in 1963. World War 3 has happened and the big nuclear bomb has gone off leaving all the people and animals in the countries in the northern hemisphere have been wiped out. Will the mass of radioactive air disperse enough to make it safe for people in Australia and New Zealand to survive? Shute’s story hones particularly on American Commander Dwight Towers, Australian Commander Peter Holmes and CSIRO scientist Dr John Osborne as they try to ascertain what the situation is.

I have not read Shute’s novel so I have no basis in which to comment on Murphy’s adaptation.

What is this ON THE BEACH about? Primarily it uses a familiar dramatic scenario; the clock is ticking down. Shute’s characters still seek out experiences and intimate connections even though the end is nigh. An inevitable comparison arose between the mass of radioactive air coming from the northern hemisphere to the anxiety that arose as the ‘dark’ wave of Covid death and illness made its way down to Australia.

Sydney Theatre Company’s Artistic Director Kip Williams took on this show himself. His productions are always theatrically intricate and atmospheric. His work is always in tandem with a good creative team. In the main roles were set designer Michael Rankin’s beguiling set, Mel Page’s costumes, Damien Cooper’s lighting, sound designer Jessie Dunn and a simply outstanding score by Grace Ferguson. I noticed that, as we were filing out of the theatre at the close, the score was playing quietly in the background.

Williams had a quality cast bringing Shute’s characters to life. In the main roles; Tai Hari played the honourable American Commander Dwight Towers, Contessa Treffone was brassy and bold as his love interest Moira Davidson,  Ben O’Toole and Michelle Lim Davidson played Aussie couple Commander Peter Holmes and his wife Mary Holmes, a young Aussie married couple with a baby girl who just wanted to be together and Matthew Backer as the eccentric CSIRO scientist, Dr John Osborne. Vanessa Downing was, as always, outstanding, in a number of minor roles, each well etched.

Act 2 saw the play become more surreal in sometimes a quite confounding way. Still, as wayward as the play became, the emotional truth contained within the final scenes made this particular journey worthwhile.

Sydney Theatre Company’s production of Tommy Murphy’s stage adaptation of Nevil Shute’s novel ON THE BEACH is playing the Roslyn Packer Theatre until the 12th August 2023.

Featured image :  Tai Hara, Emma Diaz
in Sydney Theatre Company’s ‘On the Beach’ 2023.  Production photography by Daniel Boud

www.sydneytheatre.com.au