Theatrical storytelling at its best.
Presented by Slingsby/ as told by Edgell Junior
Reviewed: March 3, 2023
It takes a cyclone to build a story! The combination of theatre directors Andy Packer and Clara Solley-Slade with the design put together by Slingsby’s Flying Squad and the visionary designer Wendy Todd underpinned by the clever lighting and special effects provided by Darien Tregena and Mark Oakley with music composed by Quincy Grant in a story told through the eyes of Edgell Junior as he experiences for us his journey through the events surrounding the forming of Cyclone Pam is a lesson in storytelling and theatre making at its best.
On stage the Slingsby’s Flying squad Alexis West, Jennifer Stefanidis, Delia Olam, Elleni Karagiannidis and Joshua Campton ably led by Edgell Junior create a sense of peaceful tropical life whilst we are shown seamlessly to our seats while the house fills to capacity with adolescent schoolkids who are immediately engaged with the action of the five story makers who are all alive to the circumstances of the world they are trying to create for us. So much so one of the young women in the school party said to her teacher is this part of the play? Yes it was and a very valuable one.
The cast plays ball, folds a tarp, move props around the stage as if preparing for a normal day as they engage with each other in such a pleasant representation of everyday life we are immediately drawn in to the world they create.
From the moment the lights go down we are transported by the storytelling brilliantly led by Edgell Junior and given the gift of life by the other four actors on stage. We take a boat trip, experience a curtain call, find a bargain in a shop on one of the remote islands of Vanuatu and get to meet Edgell Junior’s mum all before we are drawn in to the devastation that hit Vanuatu as a category 5 cyclone which doesn’t leave a lot standing after its unannounced and unwelcome visit.
We are allowed to experience so much as the event unfolds and draws us in, then spits us out to draw breath before it sucks us into its path of devastation. But this is so much more than a story about a cyclone. It’s a wake-up message about just how much damage is being wreaked on the planet by climate change. How much our beautiful Pacific Island communities are having to deal with the loss of land as their islands gradually lose more and more of their beaches.
It is a unique and brave piece of theatre and a courageous actor who leads this devastating story to its climax, and warns us that complacency will be our undoing. It takes a brave actor and strong and supportive cast and creative team to put together a show that shines a brilliant light on the path to our future. We must act now, before we lose our Pacific Islands, and our way. Another Slingsby triumph.
Reviewed by Adrian Barnes
Venue: Space Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre
Season: 1st – 6th March, 2023
Duration: 50 minutes, no interval
Tickets: From $20
Bookings: https://www.adelaidefestival.com.au/events/the-river-that-ran-uphill/
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