Einstein And The Polar Bear

You don’t have to be Einstein to realise Adelaide audiences are enjoying St Jude’s Players current production. Actor-turned-playwright Tom Griffin’s Einstein And The Polar Bear is another success for this enduring seaside theatre company.

Following the death of his wife, a famous novelist hunkers down with his stroke-affected father in a remote New England farmhouse. It’s a place far away from his many readers and almost inaccessible in winter. Apart from his father, who reminisces in disjointed ways about meeting Einstein, the novelist has only his many books, a few eccentric locals and the nearby zoo’s escaped polar bear for company. That is until a stranger, a woman, arrives at the farmhouse in the midst of a blizzard.

Einstein And The Polar Bear is a tricky play to produce. Despite its wordiness, it is light-on in lines that help actors develop the inner depths of the key characters’ emotions. Much is suppressed. In less experienced hands than those of Director Dave Simms and his fine cast, the play might not succeed in being any more than a not-that-funny comedy. Simms has deliberately infused a Northern Exposure feel into St Jude’s production, particularly in terms of the loveable locals, while the two lead actors perform skillfully and naturally. The overall result is a bittersweet mix of humour, poignancy and hope.

Adam Tuominen is author Bill Allenson. Tuominen’s training and experience shine through in his fine performance, as does his diction which is very clear (no doubt appreciated by the many elderly people at the session I attended).

Allison Scharber is terrific as Diane Ashe, the woman who arrives unannounced after her car breaks down. Diane is a feisty, strong woman with a good heart, but one burdened with a secret. Scharber portrays her with a skill that matches Tuominen’s.

Together these two actors keep the audience captivated as the relationship between novelist and mystery visitor grows and changes, until home truths are at last laid bare.

Norm Caddick does a great job with the difficult role of Andrew Allenson, Bill’s stroke-affected father. His depiction of the old man’s Einstein obsession and obvious frailty is excellent and very convincing.

Of the locals, Peter Davies is very good as the chatty and eager to please Charlie, who knows all the local secrets. Shelley Hampton is fantastic as cheated-on local woman Helen. By the time we meet Helen’s husband Bobby, played by Andrew Horwood, Charlie has already let us know what Bobby’s really been up to when out ‘fishing’, but Horwood soon endears this character to us too.

As usual, St Judes has created a great set, making Bill Allenson’s home and bookstore seem almost real.

This show is worth venturing away from the roar of your cosy home fire. You’ll be met by the roar of a rampaging polar bear instead…and a whole lot more besides. Enjoy.

Lesley Reed

Photographer: Les Zetlein