Hotel Sorrento by Hannie Rayson
Eltham Little Theatre Inc
Eltham Little Theatre, 15 Feb - 2 March 2019
Australian amateur theatre groups love
Hannie Rayson’s Hotel Sorrento, with
good reason. It is by a local playwright with resolutely Aussie themes and it
features strong roles for women (who make up most of the auditionees in
community theatre).
The story centres on the Moynihan sisters
who grew up together in the seaside town of Sorrento. Hilary (Alison Jones)
still lives in the family home with her father, Wal (Roderick Chappel) and her
teenage son, Troy (Mason Frost); Pippa (Michelle Cooper) is a businesswoman
visiting from New York; and Meg (Sharenya S Kumar) is a successful writer who
has returned from England with her husband, Edwin (James Chappel). When the
three sisters are reunited after ten years apart, they feel the constraints of
family life and sibling rivalry as ancient grudges and old grievances
re-emerge.
Middle sister, Meg, has written a book
which is shortlisted for the prestigious Booker Prize, and has set the local
community alight. Neighbour, Marg (Chris Perkins) is fascinated by the details
within; her friend, Dick (Peter Helft), is offended by what he sees as Meg’s
dismissal of her background; and all concerned want to know how much is ‘true
to life’ in the semi-autobiographical fiction. Hotel Sorrento is largely about family ties and the reliability of
collective memory; the main focus is the relationship between three sisters and
who has the right to tell their story, so it is a great positive that these
relationships worked well.
Hannie Rayson creates plausible characters,
and through their interactions, she layers the text with deeper social
concerns. It’s a lot of responsibility, but the trio shoulder it admirably and
present a solid grouping, despite some different acting choices. Alison Jones
brings a calm patience and warmth to the role of Hilary; her gentle mannerisms
a delight to watch as she embodies so much more than she says. Sharenya S.
Kumar is a touch melodramatic as Meg; although the flamboyance may suit the
character, it feels at times as though she is performing in a different play,
or perhaps a musical or pantomime. Much needed naturalism is introduced by
Michelle Cooper as Pippa, whose every facial and bodily gesture expresses a
range of emotion from frustrated resentment to unbridled amusement.
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| Alison Jones as Hilary and Michelle Cooper as Pippa |
The question of storytelling – who gets to
do it and who owns the narrative – is approached from many angles ranging from
personal and intimate to political and global, and everyone gets their say. In
a 2014 interview, Hannie Rayson explained, “Who has power, how do they wield it
and who suffers at the hand of it, are questions [that] always interest me. So
I go to the family to explore them. I understand it in a family context. I can
take the audience with me on that and make the links between what we understand
in our known worlds with how the tensions might express themselves politically,
in a bigger national canvas.”
In this production, directed by Kath
Buckingham, the impulse to expand every metaphor proves a hindrance. The set
(designed by Phil Holmes and Brad Buckingham) is too crowded with all the
elements given equal weight and therefore jostling to find space. The
conflicted characters in Hotel Sorrento
spend a lot of time internalising their thoughts and emotions while gazing out
to sea; the surrounding ocean is a strong image with its omnipresent ebbing and
flowing and relentless energy, and the scenes on the edges of the stage are
those that work best when actors and characters alike are unencumbered by
furniture and free from physical and metaphorical restrictions. It would be
satisfying to see them given greater release.
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| Troy (Mason Frost), Hilary (Alison Jones), Edwin (James Chappel), Dick (Peter Helft) and Meg (Sharenya S. Kumar) |
Meg and Edwin’s interchanges before they
leave England are conducted at the back of the stage with poor lighting and
projection, which makes them difficult to see and hear. Similarly the pivotal
scene where Hilary connects tenderly with Troy is handled sensitively by both
actors but undone by awkward staging. The indoor/ outdoor effect of the porch
of the house opening directly onto the dining room/ kitchen is confusing and
hampers the speed of action as actors cannot move seamlessly from one location
to the next. Lighting changes are slow, with some scenes held for far too long
whereas a quick snap change would help with pacing. Many lines are lengthened and several cues are
late leading to dialogue, which should be fast-paced interchanges, instead
becoming ponderous and dragging the narrative down.
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| Sharenya S. Kumar as Meg with James Chappel as Edwin |
The theme of cultural cringe is a
contentious one. It was a timely topic in 1990, but a quarter of a century
later, these lengthy debates seem somewhat unnecessary. The scenes in which
Marge and Dick argue over identity and (ex-)patriotism, and their introduction
to the family dinner table to swap stereotypical slurs are the weakest moments
of the play. This is no fault of the actors (Chris Perkins and Peter Helft
handle their expositional roles with charm and commitment), but rather due to
the fact that we have moved on to such an extent that these once-fresh
discussions now seem tired and clichéd.
Indeed, Hannie Rayson herself said several years ago, “If I were
producing the play now for performance, I would cut most of the references to
the cultural cringe in relation to Britain. That time has passed… I think
Australia has a pretty robust sense of self. The swagger born of insecurity
about our cultural worth has all but disappeared”. She continued, “Hotel Sorrento was
a play I wrote very early in my writing life. I think it is structurally flawed
and expresses much of my inexperience as a dramatist… It was a journey of the
soul, and even though I now think it's clunky in part, it's strange because
actors, directors and audiences love it. It is my most produced play. It has
had hundreds of productions.”
The reasons for that are still clear, and it is largely due to the
humanity of the three sisters. Like Chekov’s multi-faceted counterpoints they
are flawed and repressed, and often unable to express their feelings for each
other and the situations they find themselves in. But they are also bright and
funny and deep and complex and we know them; in fact we are them and we are ineffably drawn into their circle of light.
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| The cast of Hotel Sorrento |
