{"id":150722,"date":"2023-10-17T21:21:56","date_gmt":"2023-10-17T11:21:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/?p=150722"},"modified":"2023-10-17T21:21:56","modified_gmt":"2023-10-17T11:21:56","slug":"broken-river-gasworks-studio-theatre-theatre-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/broken-river-gasworks-studio-theatre-theatre-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Broken River (Gasworks Studio Theatre) &#8211; theatre review"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A gravely dysfunctional family is dealing with the matriarch suffering from dementia in the drama Broken River.\u00a0When she is lucid, Linda Cookson (Virginia Morris) remains seething with anger over her husband, who left her for another woman decades earlier.\u00a0She is also deeply suspicious of her two children and daughter-in-law Lily Johnson (Tracey Hamilton), who she is convinced is a gold digger.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_150728\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-150728\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-150728 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/DSC01875.jpeg?resize=640%2C360&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/DSC01875.jpeg?w=640&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/DSC01875.jpeg?resize=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-150728\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photos by Darren Brealey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lily \u2013 a mother of two young boys \u2013 is the one who has been doing the heavy lifting since Linda was also diagnosed with cancer.\u00a0Indeed, she is out to ensure that she is well rewarded in Linda\u2019s will.\u00a0Her husband, Chad (James William), is Linda\u2019s oldest son. He\u2019s not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. He spent three and a half years in the slammer for gun related crime.\u00a0Now, Lily is forever telling him to man up, especially so because he has power of attorney for financial affairs concerning his mother.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-150731 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/DSC01968.jpeg?resize=640%2C360&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/DSC01968.jpeg?w=640&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/DSC01968.jpeg?resize=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chad and Lily have a prickly relationship with his brother Michael (Joel King-Mayne), who has legal authority over Linda\u2019s medical needs.\u00a0Michael is gay and has a boyfriend named Frank whom he hasn\u2019t introduced to his mother. In fact, Michael still hasn\u2019t come out.\u00a0Lily is disgusted by the way she is treated by Linda and having lined up all her ducks, simply wants her to die.\u00a0Mind you, when that fateful day comes, all hell breaks loose.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-150724 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/DSC01846.jpeg?resize=640%2C360&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/DSC01846.jpeg?w=640&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/DSC01846.jpeg?resize=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Playwright Darren Brealey has drawn inspiration from two true-life stories to craft a powerful and intense narrative, which builds to curtain fall.\u00a0By that time the bad feeling in the family has moved into overdrive.\u00a0I have one caveat. There is a flatter patch in the first part of the second act, which could readily have been tightened.\u00a0Still, the script includes a number of shocks, which elevate the spectacle.\u00a0Bad language is intrinsic to the offering.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-150727 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/DSC01865.jpeg?resize=640%2C360&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/DSC01865.jpeg?w=640&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/DSC01865.jpeg?resize=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Virginia Morris has a ball switching from compos mentis to anarchic and riding rough shod over her carers\/family.\u00a0Tracey Hamilton does a fine job as the scheming wife and mother whose attitude is best summed up by the Latin exclamation carpe diem (seize the day).\u00a0I didn\u2019t really buy James William\u2019s characterisation as the henpecked husband and wannabe bad boy. I thought he overplayed the extremes of his persona. He frequently went from passive and subjugated to enraged and unhinged, which didn\u2019t wash. I wanted more nuance and naturalism in performance.\u00a0Joel King-Mayne has greater credibility as the better controlled younger sibling, with issues of his own.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-150723 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/DSC01843.jpeg?resize=640%2C360&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/DSC01843.jpeg?w=640&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/DSC01843.jpeg?resize=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Directed by Elizabeth Way, Broken River tees off on family dynamics and doesn\u2019t let up. It possesses a rabid dog quality and is playing at Gasworks until 19<sup>th<\/sup> October, 2023.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Alex First<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A gravely dysfunctional family is dealing with the matriarch suffering from dementia in the drama Broken River.\u00a0When she is lucid, Linda Cookson (Virginia Morris) remains seething with anger over her husband, who left her for another woman decades earlier.\u00a0She is also deeply suspicious of her two children and daughter-in-law Lily Johnson (Tracey Hamilton), who she&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":150726,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[801],"tags":[9416,9418,9417,3,7780],"class_list":["post-150722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-theatre","tag-broken-river","tag-cosmic-players-theatre-company","tag-darren-brealey","tag-drama","tag-gasworks"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Broken River (Gasworks Studio Theatre) - theatre review -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/broken-river-gasworks-studio-theatre-theatre-review\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Broken River (Gasworks Studio Theatre) - theatre review -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A gravely dysfunctional family is dealing with the matriarch suffering from dementia in the drama Broken River.\u00a0When she is lucid, Linda Cookson (Virginia Morris) remains seething with anger over her husband, who left her for another woman decades earlier.\u00a0She is also deeply suspicious of her two children and daughter-in-law Lily Johnson (Tracey Hamilton), who she...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/broken-river-gasworks-studio-theatre-theatre-review\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-10-17T11:21:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/DSC01859.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"360\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Alex First\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Alex First\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theblurb.com.au\\\/wp\\\/broken-river-gasworks-studio-theatre-theatre-review\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theblurb.com.au\\\/wp\\\/broken-river-gasworks-studio-theatre-theatre-review\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Alex First\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theblurb.com.au\\\/wp\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/485a03a567664eed5233363f88ed35a4\"},\"headline\":\"Broken River (Gasworks Studio Theatre) &#8211; 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Twenty years of drought has taken its toll. Citizens must pay to use public facilities \u2013 operated by a ruthless private organisation known as Urine Good Company \u2013 to pee. Anyone who breaks the law is sent to their\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Music&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Music","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/rsz_img_4322.jpg?fit=560%2C373&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/rsz_img_4322.jpg?fit=560%2C373&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/rsz_img_4322.jpg?fit=560%2C373&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":142193,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/gone-girl-gasworks-theatre-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":150722,"position":5},"title":"Gone Girls (Gasworks) &#8211; theatre review","author":"Alex First","date":"July 30, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Foreign Minister and Deputy Opposition Leader Julie Bishop \u2013 the great hopes for the ALP and the Coalition.\u00a0At least that is how they are presented in part in the political spoof Gone Girls.\u00a0It is a cleverly written and performed work that is part fact and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Theatre&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Theatre","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/theatre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/rsz_gone_girls_adl_fringe_20-4.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/rsz_gone_girls_adl_fringe_20-4.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/rsz_gone_girls_adl_fringe_20-4.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/rsz_gone_girls_adl_fringe_20-4.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150722"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150722\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/150726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=150722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}