The Adelaide Repertory Theatre, in operation since 1908, is known for presenting brilliantly crafted and staged plays at the Arts Theatre. Their first production for 2025, Sharr White’s The Other Place, is a gripping and emotionally charged play that delves into themes of memory, loss, and the complexities of the human mind. As the story unfolds, audiences are taken on a journey through the enigmatic world of Juliana Smithton, a brilliant neurologist whose life begins to unravel in ways she could never have anticipated.
This production holds a very special place in the heart of director David Sinclair, as he explained to Glam Adelaide.
“I have a personal experience with early onset dementia in one of my family members – my brother’s wife. At the age of 52, which is roughly the same age as the character Juliana, she started doing some strange things with conversation and stuff and she went downhill very quickly. We saw what was once a very vibrant, fun-loving, active person turn into an absolute shell and about four years later she sadly passed away.”
We asked David what originally drew him to The Other Place.
“My husband and I were in New York on a trip and we happened to be there during the time when a lot of shows were doing changeovers, so not much was on. We came across a production of The Other Place that was starring Laurie Metcalf, and after I did a bit of research we got tickets. I was just blown away by the story, the way the play was constructed, and the performances. Right there, I knew that if the rights ever became available in Australia it needed to be put onto the stage here in Australia. When I put it to The Rep, they didn’t really tune into it initially, but I think they are now very glad that they came along for the journey with it.”
Sharr White’s script is beautifully written, and most of the time presents the story through Juliana’s perspective.
“It’s interesting the way the play is constructed because it’s not linear at all – it’s jumping around in time. It jumps around in where she’s at with her level of dementia, and of course It’s not until things progress that you realise how much is fantasy, how much is reality and how much is her version of events. A lot of the scenes are written from her perspective, but there is so much from the perspective of those in her life. You also see the husband’s journey, and how he’s having to make sense of what his wife is going through.”
David has assembled an incredible cast, featuring Robyn Brookes as Juliana, Scott Nell as her husband Ian, Tegan Gully-Cripse as ‘Woman’ and Brendan Cooney as ‘Man’.
“I’m so blessed. Honestly, Robyn is just totally amazing with how she’s brought this character to life. It’s a very hard script to learn, and then to add the right level of confusion, the right level of panic, without it being melodramatic, without it being like she’s actually forgotten the lines – she’s doing a brilliant job. Scott Nell absolutely supports her well, as does Tegan Gully-Crispe. We worked a lot on Tegan’s three separate personas how she can differentiate when she’s doing each character. To have somebody as experienced as Brendan Cooney coming in just to do this very tiny piece of character is also just wonderful. He’s such a nice person to work with backstage. Everybody has worked their guts out and has dedicated their time and they know the importance of this piece.They also accept how important it has been for me, and their support has been just wonderful.”
Following each matinee, a Q&A session will be held with the director, cast and invited panellists from organisations that provide services and assistance in the field of dementia and other cognitive health issues.
“We are doing two Q&A’s with the cast and representation from Dementia Australia on stage after certain matinees. We did our first one yesterday and we had about 30-plus people stay back after the show. We had an advocate, somebody living with dementia as one of the guests plus that person’s husband who was a carer. There were such good questions from the audience about the condition, about services, about support, and about the production. We’ve got another one of those next Saturday which will be with the same professional body but with a different set of people to present.”
The Other Place is playing at The Arts Theatre until Saturday 3 May. There will be another Q&A session after the Matinee on Saturday 3 May.
Photo credit: Richard Parkhill
Read Glam Adelaide’s review of The Other Place HERE.
Venue: The Arts Theatre, Angas Street, Adelaide
Season: 24 April – 3 May, 2025
Duration: 82 minutes – no intermission
Tickets: Adult: $32 / Concession: $28.50
Bookings: https://adelaiderep.com/
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