Review: A GIRL WITH SUN IN HER EYES Is A Fast Paced Police Drama That Questions The Lengths People Will Go To Keep What They Have

Saturday 7 November 2015, 9:00pm, Old Fitz Theatre, Woolloomooloo

The police drama gets up close and personal with Joshua rollins' A GIRL WITH SUN IN HER EYES as the mystery of the disappearance of an undercover policewoman plays out on stage. Whilst audiences are probably familiar with the slew of investigative shows on television, having the rollercoaster unfold live makes for a powerful work that prompts the audience consider the lengths they will go for what they want.

As coloured LED bars of lights illuminate on the back wall and police sirens wail over music, a terrified scruffy man in a grey business suit, William (Jeremy Waters), is ordered to sit in a sparsely furnished interview room. The middle aged male police detective, Landy (Martin Crewes),in jeans, shirt and gun holster is joined by a Goggins (Kai Paynter),a woman in more formal business attire, as they aggressively intimidate and interrogate the suspect, believed to be involved in the disappearance of an undercover female officer.

The 80 minutes are packed with intensity as the 'present' events in the police precinct are interspersed with flashbacks to the events that led up to William being arrested and interrogated. Scene changes vary from either full blackout and loud music to sets being rearranged around actors before their departure. The LED lights, positioning either upstage or downstage of the sheer and the positioning of the table and chairs moves the story through a variety of locations as we see that William has met the missing officer outside a strip club.

As the mystery unfolds, the question of 'if only' and 'what if' is repeated as each character questions what could have happened if small changes had occurred in their past decisions. It also explores the duality of human nature in being both good and bad, despite the denial of the dark side of one's personality. We learn that through past small decisions, each of the core characters has exposed a dark secret that contrasts with the image that they wish to believe.

Crewes expresses that Landy is a complex character, beyond the heavy handed detective that we first see slamming William's head into the table. There is a softness as he lets Landy's emotions get the better of him as he fears for the safety of his former partner and worries that she has become another victim of the job that consumes so many officers lives. Paynter gives Goggins a formality but also compassion as she chooses a softer approach with William but still seeks to keep Landy in line.

Waters gives William a false bravado as he toys with Landy out of nervousness but he also shows his fear as he deals with the situations that unfold. He captures the erratic nature bought on by panic as he searches for things yet demonstrates that William isn't a complete idiot as he tries to find solutions to the situations he finds himself in.

As Kate, Williams demonstrates the desire to be successful in her job, at all costs. There is a bitterness that shows that to Kate, this is more than just a job but also revenge, against the type of perpetrator she is tasked to arrest and also, to the institution that limited her from returning to her career.

The rest of the cast is rounded out by additional suspect Darnell (Ezekiel Simat) and his Public Defender portrayed by Gabrielle Rogers. Simat presents Darnell as calm with a smouldering fury and Rogers gives his lawyer a directness inkeeping with the litigator that advertises on subway benches.

Director Andrew Henry has delivered a well-paced examination of humanity framed in this well-known format of a police drama. The space keeps the drama close to the audience ensuring that they can't walk away without being affected by the proximity of the blows and the bellows.

A GIRL WITH SUN IN HER EYES

Old Fitzroy Hotel

129 Dowling Street Woolloomooloo NSW 2011

27TH October - 14th November

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