Review: The Ruby Sunrise

The Ruby Sunrise
Ensemble Theatre
Until 14 November
Tickets $23-63
Bookings (02) 9929 0644
Critic’s Rating 5/10

As published in the Sun Herald


The character of Ruby Sunrise is as American as apple pie. A Midwest teenager, she dreams of a better world and thinks her new idea of a Tele(from the Greek) vision (from the Latin) will stop wars, educate and bring humanity closer together.

Set in the 1920s, at a time when television science was racing ahead in leaps and bounds, it’s a world away from daytime soaps and episodes of Bridezilla.

When Ruby’s daughter, Lulu (Catherine McGraffin), gives the idea to writer Tad Rose (Glenn Hazeldine) 30 years later at the height of Joseph McCarthy’s anti-Communist investigations, they think they have a hit on their hands with a story that is an optimistic tale of determination that has a female heroine.

But censorship rears its ugly heads and the story gets diluted and changed along the way.

For The Ruby Sunrise to have its full impact, the stakes need to be high and the opening scenes set in the '20s need to have a gravity and realism that will drive the rest of the play.

Unfortunately this doesn't happen. It would have been a perfect opportunity to explore audiovisual styles but instead, director Sandra Bates has opted for a realist production, where even the make-up and costumes look like they’re straight out of a community theatre wardrobe.