Drowning, not breathing

On Monday evening I drove into Melbourne city. I was attending the Victorian Arts Centre's Fairfax Studio to see the Melbourne Theatre Company cast perform Ray's Tempest, written by Steve Rodgers after an original idea from Richard Roxburgh and Justin Monjo.

On a stage without curtains the set design can be made out and I first noted that there were no "wings" for the actors to use as entry and exit points. A staircase on my left led to the top of the construction. On my right, hung a looped structure resembling a roller-coaster with an end curled over and pointing into a bathtub on the upper level. Bar stools stood against a keyboard. A bed and a wheelchair were nestled beneath and to the side of the set, and there was an odd piece of sculpture in the centre of the structure which turned out to be a "fountain" set over a grating so that water would not leak onto the rest of the stage when it was turned on.

The main character, Ray Brink, is an alcoholic who is diagnosed, after some sort of seizure resulting in a fall down the on-stage stairs (and nearly into my lap), with a heart condition and problems in his "plumbing" that are inoperable. He is then advised that he has possibly six months to live.

What do you do when you find out you are dying?

We find out that Ray once was part of a nuclear family unit - married with two children - and from whom he became estranged after the death of the youngest child, a girl. His (former?) wife, Ruthie (Genevieve Picot), struggles also to remain sober while furthering her University studies/career and his son, Frog (Hamish Michael), rages against guilt and the impact that his father has had on his life. Ruthie has, after eleven years, found a partner, Boris (Alex Menglet) who takes care of her and loves her as much as she will let him. Frog's girlfriend, Jasmine (Alexandra Schepisi) is a fairly self-absorbed and insubstantial character who does not appear to understand exactly how much Frog is troubled by the past.

Ray is also an advertising salesman although with a steady decline in his sales figures his supervisor, Isabel (Caroline Brazier), is not impressed and is about to fire him unless he improves. News of Ray's new sales technique reaches Isabel and she is made aware of Ray's medical condition. Salvation for Ray and the advertising company he and Isabel work for appears in the form of a new reality television show where applications are invited from the terminally ill who will be voted off each week until the winner is granted their Last Wish. Isabel sees it as a career opportunity for herself and, after pushing him into applying, appoints herself as head of his promotional portfolio in order that the advertising agency will benefit from the deflected media exposure.

I have read that Ray's Tempest was originally conceived as a musical. Music was still incorporated into the performance whileRay's friend Duffy, played by Kim Gyngell of Col'n Carpenter fame, sweetly played keyboard in several places during the show and Ray Brink, William McInnes from Blue Heelers (among others), pours on the charm while singing for his adoring public on the Big Brother-style reality television show "Last Wish" and I can see how the introduction of further musical numbers might have added depth to the play or accelerated the narrative.

Still struggling with his grief and his guilt (as well as his alcoholism and his medical condition), Ray uses his Last Wish in an attempt to put things right in his world and make peace with his family.

Ray's Tempest is depressing, emotional and superbly acted. The water motif and use of the element on stage was very well done. This play is for a mature audience as there is some violence, nudity (tasteful but emotionally distressing), and a sex scene (comical - you'll know what I mean if you see it). William McInnes, Genevieve Picot, Kim Gyngell, Hamish Michael and Alex Menglet are brilliant.

It is a play that will stay with me for a while - there was a lot to think about and digest. I give it three and a half stars (out of five).