Exploring connection and belonging within the context of generational migrant experiences.
I drive past boutique restaurants, around vibrant streets and old apartment complexes. I walk into the small, unassuming Flight Path theatre in the heart of Marrickville, lit by fairy lights and neon signs.
Overhead, the roaring of planes cuts through the relaxing music, as people purchase drinks and snacks and sit around on an eclectic furniture set. Suddenly, it was show time. I sat down, the show began, and I was transported to Greater Western Sydney.
PlusMinusProduction’s Various Characters makes me nostalgic for an Australia I barely remember. It pulls me back to having LAN parties with my friends, talking all night on MSN and rocking out to Linkin Park a little too much. It is not all seen through rose-tinted glasses, though. Director Šime Knežević explores the anger and anxiety of watching Australia’s entry into the Iraq War, the casual racism suffered by migrant communities and the difficulty of finding your own identity in a nation that constantly asks you to assimilate.
It is hard to pinpoint exactly what “Various Characters” is about. Not because it is about nothing, but because it is about everything. The story follows six characters, Nina, Mile, his mother Greta, their two friends Boris and Zita, and a cop, Raoul, as they are thrown together after an unexpected, tragic event. Šime masterfully blends stories of romance, grief, redemption and guilt into a tight eighty minutes that feel both sprawling in scale and yet deeply personal.
Šime’s writing shines through his dialogue. He tiptoes the line between in-your-face humour and quiet reflection, often within the same scene. Each character feels uniquely real. I wanted to draw special attention to the character of Boris, who served as the comic relief character throughout the show, who reminded me of many of my classmates during high school; funny, laidback and desperately in love.
The ensemble is sharp. With every scene, they justify their place on the stage, from small offhand jokes to emotional outbursts, all the actors draw you into the story and make you care. These are not just actors who learnt their role on a page but brought something of themselves into the performance through their experiences. They embody dualities, humour and vulnerability, courage and fear, stubbornness and growth. They act with the understanding that there are no good or bad people, there are just people.
The production design also deserves a special acknowledgement. Director and set designer Victor Kalka approached the story with a subtle touch. The scenes never felt overly blocked out, which allowed the characters a chance to breathe. The set was quite beautiful, too. In an age of monochromatic duplexes popping up everywhere, the exposed red brick instantly
transports me to the early 2000s. There is a beauty in subtlety. Overproducing a show with extravagant costuming, technical lighting, and sound design is easy. Various Characters suffers none of these problems. The production design complements the story perfectly, so I would like to shout out to Bella Wellstead, Julian Dunne and Daniel Bailen, who might not get enough love.
At times, the play does trip and bump along the way. I would have loved for certain characters to have more time to breathe and for the idea of grief to be touched upon more, considering it was such a significant part of the story. But, as you watch the show, these faults no longer matter; it is evident that the whole team has poured so much love into this show. This is an exciting first show for the PlusMinus Production team led by Šime Knežević and Josephine Lee, and I am excited to see what is next.
