The House Amongst the Willows

Fletcher takes his new fiancée Sadie to meet the parents of his dead wife, but things begin to go terribly wrong.

Director Barry Wroth’s set design gives the holiday home of Paul and Erin Berkley an English Manor house, with a dark paint job and hunting trophies (cleverly created by Stanley Halls and Cait Edwards). Lighting design, by Stanley Halls and Brett Reeves is bold and striking, but the abrupt lighting changes don’t always serve the needs of the play. 

Tension is added by effective sound engineering by Gerry Henderson and Barry Wroth.

This play initially looks like it will have joint protagonists, Fletcher Davidson, played with credibility by Mak Bailye, and Sadie Cooper, thoughtfully portrayed by Samantha Tait. The focus gradually shifts to Sadie, who wins the audience’s sympathy, partly because of the strength of Samantha’s performance.

Russell Baxter and Jo Loffler work well together as married “in laws” Paul and Erin Berkley and are a believable couple. Russell had a couple of line hiccups, but recovered well, showing good teamwork in the cast. Fletcher’s lifelong friend, Josh, is played in a natural, relaxed manner by Sean Doherty.

The final role is that of Kelly Vines - essentially an ex-girlfriend of Fletcher, but in reality, very much more, and a crucial part of this story. Played with passion and great energy by Katie Sommerville, she delivers most of her lines directly towards the fourth wall - clearly a directional choice. I would love to have seen eye contact used more, with this clearly talented actress.

Great to see something different, and the audience are clearly being drawn into this unnerving little show. Well done to Esperance Theatre Guild for a choice that’s a little out of the box.

Kimberley Shaw