Review: Personal and Poignant, A LITTLE PIECE OF ASH Gives An Insight Into Grief And An Ancient Culture

Wednesday 17th May 2019, 7:30pm, KXT

A Rollercoaster of emotions, A LITTLE PIECE OF ASH shares a personal journey of dealing with death. Megan Wilding's "trauma baby" as she calls her first full length play which was shortlisted for the 2017 Patrick White Playwrights' Award is met with laughter and tears at its world premiere as part of JackRabbit Theatre's season at KXT.

Writer, director and performer Megan Wilding draws on personal experience to present a story of a young Aboriginal woman dealing with the death of her mother in the 21st century. Wilding takes on the role of the mother Lily whilst Stephanie Somerville is her 20 something daughter Jedda. Whilst the story focuses on Jedda's reaction in the days and months following Lily's death, in keeping with the Aboriginal culture's Dreaming, Lily remains as a constant presence throughout, observing, commenting and explaining to the audience whilst finally indulging in some of the things she was not allowed to enjoy in life. Jedda is joined in her journey through the grief by timid drama school friend Mendy (Moreblessing Maturure), gay best friend Chuck (Luke Fewster), former schoolfriend from back home Ned (Alex Malone) and nerdy stranger fascinated by her laugh Eddie (Toby Blome). Memories, dreams and recounts of the present-day reality are woven with the old country music that Lily loved.

Given Lily's permanent presence, Designer Ella Butler positions the recently departed mother, dressed simply in a floral frock, alongside a cluttered kitchen table which dominates one end of KXT's traverse stage. Linking the work to Lily and Jedda, and also Wilding's Aboriginal heritage, the red wall behind the kitchen table has cutouts of motifs often seen in traditional paintings while the opposite wall holds a series of coat hangers with clothes utilized throughout the performance. In addition to a battered old armchair, an assortment of milk crates provides a flexible performance space that allows Jedda's story to shift from the corridors at WAAPA to Jedda's apartment and the NSW town where Lily and Jedda's extended family lived.

As director and writer, Wilding has struck a beautiful balance between brilliantly funny to heartbreakingly poignant that saw a number of the opening night audience leaving with somewhat damp faces. As a performer Wilding is wonderfully endearing as she breaks the fourth wall with cheeky observations and comments on Lily's life. Her gentle tone is playful and inviting in her acceptance that the audience may not necessarily be familiar with the language and culture of her people, educating with an ease and without judgement including a uniting piece of audience involvement. Wilding's facial expressions as Lily responds to Jedda's actions and conversations are priceless and the closer to the aisle seating one can get the better to fully appreciate the physicality of the work.

Somerville gives Jedda an honesty and mystery as the audience first meet her chain smoking at the center of the stage whilst two "children" dance and play around her. She expresses the complexity of a young woman who, at face value, can seem a little self-indulgent but really is not coping with the loss of her parent and the feelings of guilt for not answering her mother's calls and generally leaving her sick mother in New South Wales whilst she went to Perth to study.

Maturure is delightfully awkward and innocent as the friend that tries to comfort Jedda within the first hour of discovery. Fewster gives Chuck a considerable camp expression as the friend that helps Jedda during the denial phase of grief. Malone's Ned helps connect Jedda to her home whilst also highlighting that Jedda was the product of two worlds and that she came from a community that consisted of both the Aboriginal Australians and others that, whilst they may have made friends with the first nations residents, may not really understand their culture. Blome's Eddie a another stand out of the supporting characters in his portrayal of the meek young man that Jedda picks up at a party then proceeds to lash out at as she comes to terms with her emotions.

Giving audiences an insight into a personal story and also contemporary Aboriginal Australian culture, this is a tight 90 minute production that moves at an easy pace so that the comedy and the pathos of the work is maximized. With interesting insight into the language, beliefs and Dreaming, A LITTLE PIECE OF ASH is both informative and easily relatable as even if people havent lost a parent or don't fully understand the Aboriginal culture, it is highly likely that they will still have experienced some form of loss and can easily sympathize.

http://www.kingsxtheatre.com/ash

Photos: Clare Hawley

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