Stockholm

 One of the more famous bits of advice given by Anton Chekhov goes something like this: If you’re going to have a loaded gun on the stage in the first act, make sure it’s going to be fired in the next.

 Sydney Theatre Company/Frantic AssemblyWharf 1 Theatre, Sydney
Wednesday, 17 March, 2010
One of the more famous bits of advice given by Anton Chekhov goes something like this: If you’re going to have a loaded gun on the stage in the first act, make sure it’s going to be fired in the next. Bearing this in mind, you’d be justified in feeling a little apprehensive if the stage features not a loaded gun, but dozens of big, wicked kitchen knives arranged artfully along the wall.
Much of the tension of Stockholm rests in the uneasy feeling that a weapon of some sort is going to be used with unhappy consequences. Kali (Leeanna Walsman) and Todd (Socratis Otto) seem to be the perfect couple. It’s Todd’s birthday, and they’re enjoying a pleasant day of movie-going, cooking and sex. They are completely in sync with each other – as demonstrated by frequent dancing. Sure, the way they talk about their relationship is a little odd, but they are completely and utterly in love.
It’s not long, however, before the cracks start to show in this Utopia. Kali and Todd’s relationship is a little dysfunctional, and writer Bryony Lavery’s use of the third person is a nice device to explore the darker side of the relationship. On the one hand, it’s a form of self-delusion; Kali and Todd talk about themselves as if theirs was a great cinematic love story, reinforced by a grand, sweeping soundtrack. On the other, it’s a way of making their situation seem universal, not unique to themselves.
Both Otto and Walsman put in fine performances, and they manage to achieve a synchronicity that makes Kali and Todd’s bond completely believable. There are some discordant moments, though. What should be a steady, almost unbearable building of tension is interrupted by disturbing, abstracted soliloquies. You can see Lavery’s intentions with these moments, but rather than increasing the anxiety these little speeches work as circuit-breakers, disengaging the audience from the couple’s enclosed world, so that you have to work to re-establish a connection with what’s going on.
The staging is brilliant – especially towards the awful climax, where the appearance of the actors being in very real, physical danger ramps up the tension a hundredfold. Laura Hopkins’ versatile and compact set has things blooming and appearing from unexpected places, giving the feeling of a magic show. The directing and choreographing of Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett is near flawless. Dance numbers give the feeling of almost being a musical (without the singing). Otto and Walsman move fluidly around the stage and each other, telegraphing the nature of their relationship all the more effectively than could be done through words.
Stockholm isn’t perfect, but it’s a damn fine production.
Bookings: (02) 9250 1777
Until 24 April, 2010