The World War 2 refugee experience that saw many Jewish people flee their home country and make a new life for themselves in a new land was disorientating and gut-wrenching- kind of like finding oneself washed up on a foreign shore.
This is exactly what happens to Eva, a young woman, in Melbourne Jewish playwright Elise Hearst’s magic realism play THE SEA PROJECT, inspired by the true life story of her Polish grandmother who emigrated solo to Australian when she was only 19 years old, after her family had to flee Lotz, Poland.
Meredith Penman the young woman Eva washed ashore with a few suitcases. Traumatised by what has happened to her she can’t remember anything except her name and how she has her tea. Eva has one finger missing but has no idea why.
Aussie bloke Bob (Iain Sinclair) finds her on the beach, bundles her up and takes her home. She tells him that he can have his way with her if he wants to. She is too far gone to care!
THE SEA PROJECT follow Eva’s journey as she tries to piece together her life again, from being in a state of limbo to some sort of peace again.
Hearst tells Eva’s story in a deeply theatrical and poignant style. For examples, there’s the appearance of a piano accordion that escalates fragments of memory and music. And there’s a small boat that is brought on stage.
Time periods and languages constantly change and the awkward differences between Australian and Polish manners and customs surface.
We see men fight for her affection, as she tries to find new love in her life. Maciek (Justin Cotta), a man who mysteriously arrives from her past, claims that they used to sing in a band together. They start singing together, accompanied by a guitarist (Tom Hogan) who bases himself at the side of the stage.
Is Maciek real or is he just in her head?! Conflicting and sordid feelings and memories come up from the past,- “I met a man in the war…without shoes…he ate his shoes”.
Meredith Penman gives a wonderful performance as the angst ridden Eva. Iain Sinclair plays her fair dinkum, modest, good bloke friend Bob. Justin Cotta plays the mysterious Maciek.
David Fleischer’s set featuring a shiny, reflective polished marble floor, and Ross Graham’s evocative lighting design worked well.
A play that poignantly captures the startling and all-consuming nature of the refugee emigration experience, Elise Hearst’s THE SEA PROJECT, directed by Paige Rattray, opened at the Stables theatre, 10 Nimrod Street, KIngs Cross on Friday 7th September and plays until Saturday 29th September, 2012 .
(c) David Kary
An edited version of this review was published in The Australian Jewish News Sydney Volume 119 Number 1 Friday September 21, 2012.
Tags: Sydney Theatre Reviews- THE SEA PROJECT, Stables Theatre, Elise Hearst, Justin Cotta, Tom Hogan, Meredith Penman, Iain Sinclair, David Fleischer, Ross Graham, Sydney Arts Guide, David Kary.