Gloria

Two premieres in successive nights – we are spoilt for excesses in Brisbane at present.

No spoiler alert needed to reveal Gloria is about a middle-aged woman struck down recently by a stroke and struggling through her diminished memory to make contact with a son she recalls abandoning for adoption before she took off to Europe to establish a reputation as a cabaret star.

It’s no surprise then, when we enter, this performance space looks like a bomb site – disparate bits of set scattered wall to wall, with a hospital bed discreetly lit to one side. That’s Bill Haycock’s inspired design to represent fragments of Gloria’s memory. Lighting designer, David Walters, rose to the challenge of lighting Haycock’s complex design.

Hidden in the corner opposite the hospital bed is a grand piano where Andrew McNaughton, real-life husband of Christen O’Leary (who plays Gloria) provides live accompaniment from his overall sound design. Gloria relies on songs to put together the jigsaw puzzle of her past. Elaine Acworth’s sensitive lyrics and McNaughton’s melodies are critical to her improvement.

Naomi Price (better known herself as a cabaret star) doubles as Maggie and Rose; Steven Rooke (Ned – Gloria’s son) and young Elijah Wellsmore (Ned and Maggie’s son); and Kevin Spink doubles as John and Walter. They work as a very effective ensemble. You’ll understand who they are when you see the play – I’m giving nothing away.

Special congratulations to dramaturg, Louise Gough, and director David Bell, both of whom cosseted this new work through the development process. No weak links in this chain of success.

You must see this one, but take tissues for the end.

Jay McKee