THINGS I KNOW TO BE TRUE by Andrew Bovell premiered in Adelaide in 2016 with productions soon after in Britain, the U.S. and Sydney. This production by the Pymble Players is a testament to how good an all-volunteer theatre company can be. This is an absorbing production about a ‘typical’ Australian family. Mother (a nurse), father (forced to retire early) and four children who are different in many ways but the same in one way – their reliance on the family, particularly the robust mother. The story is told in a naturalistic style with interludes of monologues. It begins with the father and the four adult children standing side-by-side facing the audience, each describing the moment they wait for a phone call.
This is a beautiful set up for what’s to follow – the individual stories of each of the characters. It could be seen as five stories, one of each of the four children, and the story of the parents as a couple. There are enough stories in this one play for something to resonate with every member of the audience. There is the child who explores Europe and returns to the nest, the dishonest son who abandons the family’s principles, the son who becomes a woman and a married daughter who has an affair. How the parents deal with all these shocks unfolds with paced precision. How all these threads relate and finally resolve is a masterwork of writing.
The family is honest, hard-working and struggling to see the world beyond their own driveway. They know something else is out there, but they don’t know how to get to it without losing their way. It is a suburban family drama that seems understated but which hits the mark with every audience member. Comments overheard were ‘my son is like that’, ‘I felt just like that when…’, and ‘that’s how I reacted, too, when…’
Full marks to director Racquel Boyd, her sixth production for the Pymble Players. Her casting is spot on. Bob Guest plays the father. He is outstanding in a complex role. The mother is Judy Jankovics, playing the most difficult part having to balance her overpowering devotion to the four children with her mostly hidden softer side. The children are played by Tonia Davis, Michael Doran, Blake Michael Paish and Nicole Dimitriadis – all fine actors. Geoff Jones’ sound design mixed with his own compositions blended neatly with the action without overpowering it.
THINGS I KNOW TO BE TRUE closes 11th June 2023. It’s got humour, intrigue and shocks. It’s contemporary. It’s memorable. It’s another success from a company that’s been producing plays for 66 years.