The Splinter

If a key aim of theatre is to provoke discussion and make the audience go on an emotional journey, then The Splinter has ticked both boxes.

It begins at the end of the story, so it seems. A child missing for an extended period is reunited with her parents.

There is a relief and joy from her father, played by Erik Thomson, and mother, played by, Helen Thomson who both anchored the performance with depth and empathy.

The child will not speak and behaves erratically. Tensions of the past bubble to the surface. They should be overjoyed to receive their daughter back, but something is not quite right.

This unease is accentuated by the representation of the young girl as a puppet.

The child was portrayed as wooden and limp, allowing us to feel the parents’ alienation from this apparent stranger who has come back to their home.

Coupled with paranoia that the child’s abductor would return, they spend the performance jumping at shadows, both real and psychological.

The set was sparse but nonetheless clever use of lighting and special effects such as wind made it a satisfying production to look at.

Inspired by the Henry James novella The Turn of the Screw, this production is one of the more successful commissions from the Sydney Theatre Company in recent times.

It leaves many questions unanswered. While this provoked a dynamic discussion in the foyer afterwards about what the ending meant, there was no ambiguity about the trauma caused to a family when a child goes missing.

David Spicer

Images: (top) Helen Thomson and Julia Ohannessian and (lower) Erik Thomson, Helen Thomson and Julia Ohannessian  in Sydney Theatre Company’s The Splinter. Photographer: Brett Boardman.