Concrete Playground

Saturn's Return, by Tommy Murphy, is a charming elegy for the three decades of our extended youth.

Caught on the cusp of thirty, Zara (Leeanna Walsman) attempts to control her life and the people orbiting it with a thoroughly disarming honesty. Murphy’s writing is at its best in Zara’s voice, capturing the nuances of Sydney’s inner city whilst playfully slashing the parachutes we all use to escape awkward social freefalls.

A wealth of honesty is not a replacement for truth, however, and this presents an obvious vacuum at the sudden ending of Saturn’s Return. There is no true story, no resolution of the narrative hints cast out in earlier scenes; what you have instead is a sequence of alluring vignettes connected by spider silk plot threads.

Director David Berthold has crafted a strong, energetic production that makes good use of designer Adam Gardnir’s revolving set stage magic. The three actors – Walsman, Toby Moore and Matt Zeremes – are engaging and highlight the humour of Murphy’s words with their convincing performances.

If you still want more than a dollop of narrative with your poetry, however, you’ll have to buy a copy of the program. It doesn’t offer concrete answers, but it will provide useful gristle for the necessary, post-show debrief.

Photo by Tracey Schramm.