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Liz St Clair Long in The Actress, playing at Canberra REP Theatre until May 18. Picture by Eve Murray |
The Actress
By Ron Cerabona
May 2 2024, updated May 4 2024
The curtain is ready to rise on Lydia Martin's final performance before she retires and is whisked away by her wealthy fiancé to a life of luxury in Switzerland.
As Lydia prepares to farewell the stage, her family, friends, rivals, and colleagues descend upon her dressing room to deliver gracious goodbyes and settle past scores.
Renowned director Aarne Neeme takes us behind the curtain and into the actors' private world in this Peter Quilter tragicomedy that cleverly explores the roles we play in our own and other's lives as we navigate relationships and the expectations that come with them.
Liz St Clair Long plays Lydia, who she describes as "a happy-sad, complex challenge. She's used to commanding the space, but she's facing the unknown".
But it's not all poignant moments. The play sparkles with wit as Lydia spars with her ex-husband (Rob de Fries) and daughter (Kate Harris), both sceptical that she'll be satisfied away from the stage, and uses her razor-sharp tongue to put her agent (Jane Ahlquist) and the company manager (Jazmin Skopal) firmly in their place.
Her relationship with her smitten and very rich fiancé (Saban Lloyd Berrell) provides gentle comedy, while the professional intimacy she shares with her dresser (Sally Rynveld) is full of wry moments.
At Canberra REP Theatre, various dates and times until May 18. See: canberrarep.org.au.
First published at The Canberra Times, May 4 2024
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