When the Rain Stops Falling by
Andrew Bovell.
Directed by Chris Baldock. Assisted by Zac Bridgman. Stage
manager Rhiley Winnett. Properties Natalie Trafford and Chris Baldock. Set
design and realization Chris Baldock. Projection Realization Rhiley Winnett.
Sound design Chris Baldock and Rhiley Winnett. Lighting, sound and projection
operation Rhiley Winnett. Costumes The cast and Chris Baldock. Mockingbird Theatre Company. Belco Arts Belconnen
Arts Centre. May 8-17 2025 Bookings: belcoarts.ticketsales.com
Reviewed by Peter Wilkins
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| Dyllan Ormazabal (Andrew Price) and Chris Baldock as Gabriel York |
Mockingbird Theatre Company’s production
of Andrew Bovell’s When The Rain Stops
Falling continues to present Canberra audiences with works that capture the
imagination and stimulate the intellect. Playwright Bovell is a master of the
dramatic construct. In telling the story of four generations of the Law family,
Bovell weaves a tapestry of ingenious storytelling that leads audiences through
a labyrinth of family secrets, scandalous conduct, fateful relationships and
the desperate search for elusive answers to one’s identity.
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| Leonidas Katsanis (Gabriel Law) Liz St Clair Long (the older Elizabeth Law) |
Director Chris Baldock contains
the epic scope of familial legacy, abandonment, tragedy and human struggle within
the intimate confines of Mockingbird’s in the round setting. The play opens
under a canopy of plastic umbrellas. The cast wander through the space to
escape the rain leaving Gabriel York (Chris Baldock) alone on stage and ruminating
on the symbolism of a fish falling from the sky, and awaiting the arrival of
his son Andrew (Dyllan Ormazabal). He is coming to learn his heritage, a legacy
lost in the shadows of the past.
Bovell’s narrative transcends and
interpolates time navigating the lives of 60 year old matriarch Elizabeth Law
(Liz St Clair Long), her son Gabriel Law (Leonidis Katsanis),his father Henry
Law (Zac Bridgman), the younger Elizabeth (Ruth Hudson), Gabriel’s girlfriend
Gabrielle York (Jayde Dowhy), the older Gabrielle York (Jess Beange) and older
Gabrielle’s husband Joe Ryan (Bruce Hardie). Bovell gradually unfolds the chapters
of the Law story, revealing a dysfunctional family history, unable to
communicate, torn apart by human failing, victims of fate’s tragic events and yet ultimately arriving at
redemption and hope in a final scene of reconciliation of the past over a fish
soup meal around the dining table. In Baldock’s production it is a moment that
resounds with the victory of hope over adversity.
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| Jayde Dowhy (younger Gabrielle York) Jess Beange (older Gabrielle) |
His web of mystery beguiles and intrigues. He demands curiosity from his
audience and from the production team of When
The Rain Stops Falling. Each scene promises revelation, a piece of the
jigsaw puzzle that illuminates the mystery but only provides the final answers
to the puzzle when Gabriel York unpacks the contents of a suitcase and presents
them to his son at the end of the play.
Director Baldock and his strong ensemble
cast rise to the challenge. We are compelled to care for each character, for
their desires and for their failings. Mockingbird’s
carefully staged and engrossing production will cast a veil of reflection that
will haunt you long after you leave the theatre. Ultimately we are confronted
by the same question; “Who am I?” We are all a thread in Bovell’s tapestry of
human experience. When The Rain Stops
Falling rightfully earns a place in the treasure trove of classic
Australian plays. Mockingbird Theatre Company’s reverent production does the
play justice. Don’t miss it.
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| Zac Bridgman as Henry Law
Jess Beange as the older Gabrielle York Photos by Chris Baldock |
