"Verbatim theatre inquires" – Review by Alanna Maclean of the play A Certain Maritime Incident, produced by Version 1.0 and Performance Space, at The Street Theatre, Canberra, October 19-23, 2004

– Canberra Times, 21 October 2004, Times2, page 9.

This is a review by Alanna Maclean in the ‘Canberra Times’ of the black comedy currently showing in Canberra, ‘A Certain Maritime Incident’ (ends on Saturday 23 October). As the reviewer says, don’t miss it !

"It is one thing to mince words at an enquiry. It is another to be confronted by the human results of policy made at a distance. This piece of what is now referred to as verbatim theatre starts with the tangle of words and evasions and ends up with the only thing that may count – the body on the slab …"

TK , 21.10.2004

 

BACK three years ago to the traumatic time of September-October 2001. Not just September 11. A Certain Maritime Incident makes powerful theatrical use of the transcripts of the senate inquiry into what became known as the "Children Overboard" affair and turns them into a challenging, questioning piece, not only about this incident and Australian attitudes towards people who seek refuge here but also about the sinking of SIEV X.

Sounds dry? Hardly. At first there is a good deal of humour. A huge upside-down Australian flag fills the stage (A signal of distress?) A solemn small child in a tie is interviewed as Peter Reith, the Defence Minister at the time. Were there children thrown overboard or not?

The flag drops and the senate inquiry convenes, with more real-life characters from the senate, the public service, and the navy impersonated by a range of actors in suits behind a marvellous long table on wheels.

There’s a bit of cheeky comment on an overhead projector but mostly the words are from the transcript. The committee uses the table as a weapon and a shield. The witnesses stand alone at a mike, sometimes forced tellingly off the stage to a more direct contact with the audience. On a screen at the back disturbing images roll of Parliament House complete with the security barrier, the navy’s ships and increasingly, the open sea.

The inquiry snipes and twists its way to an end, that leaves much to be desired, lets its hair down in celebration and is then taken over by a darker shadow. The voices of the SIEV X survivors speak of the human horror of that ship’s sinking, while a naked male body is laid out and prepared for burial.

It is one thing to mince words at an enquiry. It is another to be confronted by the human results of policy made at a distance. This piece of what is now referred to as verbatim theatre starts with the tangle of words and evasions and ends up with the only thing that may count – the body on the slab, the common destination. What boats did many of us (or our ancestors) come on ?

It is admirable at making us feel uncomfortable about the possible deviousness of government and the ethics of our treatment of others. This is questioning theatre that sets out to make an audience question. Don’t miss it.