Several years ago Film Australia released a film which appeared to tick all the boxes - great cast, skilled director, and a script by one of Australia's leading playwrights, however ... That film was "Palm Beach".
"Get Sando", a new Australian play written and directed by Claire Haywood, is an ambitious work, tackling a swag of issues: local council corruption, youthful political activism, journalistic integrity, environmentalism, shonky land deals, morally bankrupt religious cults, legal & government failures, child sexual exploitation and institutional cover-up (but wait, there's more), murder, generational conflict, betrayal, shifting notions of socially acceptable interpersonal relationships, domestic violence, mental health - and chickens that won't lay.
All this, and more, has been chopped, diced, minced and crammed into a puff pastry of dark comedy. Needless to say, with so much in the mix a lot of the ingredients are undercooked, especially given the baking running time of 90 minutes. It is some sort of testament to Haywood's experience as a writer for theatre, film and television, that she manages to pack everything in. However, there is a lot here to digest, too much, and the result illustrates the old adage that "Less is more". What we have here is breadth over depth, surface over substance, quantity over quality. Halve the ingredients and there would still be more than enough to chew on. Which is not to say that what is served up is devoid of any calorific content; there is plenty of comedy gravy to keep us engaged, and while Haywood's efforts to address the burning issues that dominate our daily news feeds are admirable, I felt that her treatment lacked balance between the weighty themes and the comedy. Given the corruption and criminality everywhere you turn in this small community, presided over by the eponymous 'Sando' and his cronies, there is a surprising lack of tension and an avoidance of conflict, apart from the standard inter-generational bickering. There are no high stakes, and a too heavy reliance on comedy to defuse moments of tension, and simultaneously engage our emotional investment in the drama.
Most of the comedy is supplied by the quirky character of Micky O'Reilly, played with passionate intensity by Susan Ling Young, a cross between Miss Marple and the 'Log Lady' from "Twin Peaks". The middle class retirees & parents of Bri, our gung-ho cub reporter (Emily Sinclair), played by theatre veterans Di Smith & Mark Lee, are comic second-fiddle. But the run time and plethora of issues and plot points doesn't allow for the deep emotional excavation that Micky and Miriam's (Smith) characters, in particular, demand. Miriam is the play's protagonist, but she is not given the attention she deserves, and too much time is wasted on discussions about her book club, amongst other things. With the exception of Smith's Miriam, there are no well developed character arcs. Mark Lee shines briefly in his secondary role as the corrupt alderman 'Sando', but as Miriam's husband Bill, his talents are wasted on a character that is under-written. Also, the programme credits suggests there was no set designer ... and it shows.
One way of 'reading' the world of "Get Sando" is as a metaphor for the current situation in America, which explains the vast, interconnected web of corruption that we are presented with, and based on that reading it all makes sense. However, the fall of the American empire that we are witnessing in real time is an epic story to rival that of the Roman empire. It cannot be portrayed in 90 minutes. It needs the scope and scale of a Michelangelo, not a Rembrandt miniature.
Notwithstanding these shortcomings, "Get Sando" is an entertaining night at the theatre, with plenty of laughs to keep the audience engaged. 3 stars.
"Get Sando" is playing at the Flightpath Theatre, Marrickville till 22nd November.
Reviewed by: Garreth Cruikshank