Reviewed by Barry Lenny, Thursday 16th August 2018.
The Man From Earth is a stage adaptation, by Richard Schenkman, of Jerome Bixby's multiple award-winning science fiction film of the same name. The script closely follows that of the film. Robert Kimber directed this production for Red
Phoenix Theatre, the award-winning resident theatre company at Holden Street Theatres, a group that has chosen to present works that have never been performed in Adelaide before. His approach varies from the film in that it is set entirely outside the house, with piles of furniture and boxes ready for collection by the removalists from a charity.
Bixby briefly visited the idea in an episode that he wrote for the third season of Star Trek, called Requiem for Methuselah. In a case of nothing being new, that episode is said to have been influenced by the film, Forbidden Planet, itself an update of
William Shakespeare's, The Tempest.
John Oldman is a history professor who, after ten years in the job, suddenly announces that he is resigning and moving on. He has not said why he is leaving, nor where he is going. A handful of his colleagues arrive at his house to share a few farewell drinks and to wish him well in the future. They also, though, want those two questions answered before he leaves. He decides to satisfy their curiosities, but what he has to say is far from anything that any of them could have expected.
He explains that he is 14,000 years old and that, whenever people start to comment that he does not look a day older than when they first met him, that acts as a warning signal for him to go, before too many questions are asked and things get awkward. Unsurprisingly, things get awkward. His associates each come from a different university faculty, and he fields all of their questions, leaving them wondering whether he is making fun of them, whether he really is 14,000 years old, or whether he is completely mad. If you have not seen the film, then you'll find the twists and turns at the end of the play, most intriguing.
John Oldman is an enigma, and Fahad Farooque is wonderfully enigmatic in the role. Is he, or is he not, what he claims? Farooque walks that very fine line, playing with the audience, throwing one concept after another into the narrative, and keeping us on tenterhooks. Farooque's demeanour and facial expressions lead us into temptation.
His farewell party members are a mixed bunch, comprising heads of their departments: Harry, a biologist; Edith, an art history professor and devout Christian, who reacts strongly to part of John's story that contradicts the bible that she takes word for word as factual; Dan, an anthropologist; Sandy, an historian, who admits to John that she is in love with him; Dr. Will Gruber, an elderly psychiatrist in ill health whose wife had died the day before, unbeknownst to John; and Art, an archaeologist having a mid-life crisis and who arrives on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle with his much younger student, Linda, with whom, it is implied, he is having an affair.
We all know people who have aged well, and could pass for younger than their real age, but they are not immortal, nor even have extended life ranges. They are merely fortunate in their genetic lineage. We also know people who look far older than their physical age. John, though, is said to be completely unchanged over the ten years that the others have known him. His tale goes from the most mundane things, such as finding food and shelter in his early days, to his meetings with famous figures who became his friends and/or teachers, or even having been famous himself during some of his myriad decade-long 'lives'.
He has an unknown painting by Vincent van Gogh that he initially dismisses as a fake but then, a little later while telling of his 14,000 years, admits that it is genuine and was given to him by the painter. He tells of studying with Gautama Buddha, and turning down a chance to sail with Christopher Columbus because, at that time, he still thought that the world was flat. Even Jesus gets a mention.
Lobsang Rampa, the controversial author of nineteen books in which he claimed that the spirit of a Tibetan Lama had taken over his body, touched on the missing years in the life of Jesus and his explanation is, it would seem, much of the basis for John's explanation of those missing years and some of the more ridiculously unbelievable parts in the new testament. Edith, of course, is horrified and screams at John that his supposed life story is blasphemous. Lyn Wilson, as Edith, reacts to John's story with convincing emotions as her lifelong beliefs are challenged. Wilson brings a complex interpretation to the role.
Andrew Horwood, as Dan,
Lindsay Dunn, as Harry, Alicia Zorkovic, as Sandy, Eliza Bampton, as Linda Murphy, and Brendan Cooney, as Art Jenkins, all add fine individual performances, as well as forming a tight ensemble.
Brant Eustice, as Dr. Will Gruber, is well short of the character's considerably greater age, but carries it off with the aid of greyed and dishevelled hair, coupled with his exceptional acting abilities. The Adelaide Critics Circle presented him with the Amateur Individual Award last year, while Red Phoenix won the Amateur Group Award.
Powerlifter, Brett Johns, and martial artist, Derek Crawford appear as the two removalists, roles requiring strong, fit people, with Crawford also playing a paramedic, both making their stage debuts.
I will say nothing about Kimber's set and Richard Parkhill's lighting, other than stating that it will impress, as going further would spoil it for audiences still to see the production. Michael Eustice has gone to a lot of trouble with the sound, too. The company has established a reputation for very high-quality theatre, and this is no exception.
The opening night performance was sold out at and, at that time, there were only a few tickets left for the remainder of the performances in the first weekend. The second week, it seems, is also selling very well, so you will need to book quickly.
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