A Different Way Home (Chapel off Chapel) – theatre review

It is the 1980s. An elderly woman passes away. She lived with her son, being one of her five offspring. But there was no love lost between that son, Leslie and his sister Maureen. Each has their say in this heartfelt two-act play, with one actor – UK-born Michael Dalton, who immigrated to Australia in the ‘80s – doing a superb job fulfilling the role of both siblings. Most importantly, they are equally credible.

In the first and far longer opening act, Leslie outlines his lonely lifestyle and dishes the dirt on family and others that played a part in his and his mother’s lives. In the second, Maureen presents a different side to her brother, of which there was no indication before interval. It is not just a truism to suggest that you have to hear both sides of a story before you get the full picture and so it is here.

Leslie and Maureen speak directly to us – the audience – as if we have just been taken into their confidence after being invited into their mother’s house for a cuppa. Leslie is the elder of the pair. Heavy set, he doesn’t seem to get about too easily and he is nursing a heavy cold, about which he constantly complains. Maureen was ostracised by the family when she got married. Far more energetic than Leslie, she is supposedly a reformed smoker, but in reality she can’t wait to get her hands on a fag. Set in Britain, many references will please those from the mother country and others familiar with it.

Black comedy is an important ingredient in what unfolds and the audience I saw it with clearly appreciated that element, with raucous laughter a regular outpouring.

Dalton’s transformation from one act to the next is eye-catching – his Leslie has all but vanished when the feisty Maureen takes to the stage. In fact, if the truth were told, I would have liked to hear a bit more of Maureen and a little less of Leslie.

The playwright is Jimmie Chin from Lancashire, to whom great plaudits go for crafting such an astute vehicle, presented as two cohesive monologues. Two hours, including a 20-minute interval, A Different Way Home is a triumph for Dalton, director Zoe Warwick and production manager Gavin Macleod.
It is playing at Chapel off Chapel until 11th October as part of the Victorian Seniors Festival 2015.

Alex First