Review: Strange Attractor

Strange Attractor
Griffin Theatre
Until 21 November
Tickets $15-44
Bookings (02) 8002 4772
Critic’s Rating 9/10


When the next generation research how theatre represented the state of the Australian nation in the early part of the 21st Century then this new play by Sue Smith will be the flagship text they’ll turn to.

Deep in the Pilbara, a railway construction team is doing their best to survive isolation. Set in a mess hall with Chilli, an Argentinian barman (Ivan Donato), four workers get drunk together to wile away the hours.

But along comes Colin (Darren Gilshenan) the HR manager of the construction company who faces of with the old unionist Taipan (Peter Kowitz) over the accident of the OH&S manager Gus (Sandy Winton) during a cyclone.

At first it seems like this play is just your run of the mill working class versus rich story with stock-standard ‘bewdiful’ Aussie outback scenery. But then the complexity of the text opens up like a lotus to reveal a tour-de-force that is a requiem for a nation that should have bigger dreams.

Directed by Nick Marchand, it’s an astonishing achievement that is politically acute and places Australia in an environmental, industrial, cultural and historical context with breath-taking clarity.

The cast are universally excellent with beautifully crafted characters but sadly the set design leaves much to be desired in a work that is gripping and essential viewing.