Anger and frustration explode in Samuel D. Hunter’s power packed drama The Whale, which is about connection and redemption.
While the story itself is remarkable, the acting has me champing at the bit to recommend it.
Charlie (Adam Lyon) lives alone in a rundown apartment in Idaho that he never leaves.
He is morbidly obese. He gorges himself on food, even though his blood pressure is off the charts and he is suffering from congestive heart failure.
He can hardly move and barely gets by with the aid of a Zimmer frame.
Charlie is an online university English teacher who encourages his students to be bold and express their honest feelings in writing.
Photos by Ben Andrews
One day, out of the blue, a young Mormon missionary, Elder Thomas (Sebastian Li), arrives, just as Charlie is having a severe medical episode.
But Charlie point-blank refuses to go to hospital (he claims it’s because he has no health insurance).
Rather, he relies upon daily visits from a nurse friend, Liz (Melanie Gleeson).
She and Charlie both recognise that the end is near for him.
Notwithstanding her angst at his refusal to seek medical attention, she does what she can to help.
Liz is also infuriated by the arrival of the bible-basher. During the play, we find out why.
Importantly, we also discover that Charlie used to be married to Mary (Tanya Schneider).
But he split with his wife when their daughter Ellie (Skye Fellman), whom he hasn’t seen since, was only two. That was 15 years ago, after he started an affair with a male student.
Unexpectedly, the now wild and angry Ellie re-enters his life, after Charlie promises to help her write essays to get her through school, which she’s failing.
My summary has barely brushed the surface of what goes down in The Whale.
But I’m not about the spoil the surprise, nor the reward one gets by watching this very special play, one in which the gradual reveals help build the full picture.
The title refers to an essay about Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick that is particularly meaningful to Charlie.
The piece benefits enormously from a series of stellar showings from the cast.
They are headlined by Adam Lyon as the breathless, physically impaired Charlie. Each laboured moment is an ordeal. He brings desperation and stoicism to a role, in which he is both repugnant and alluring.
Skye Fellman mesmerises as his vitriolic, estranged daughter, with a massive chip on her shoulders. Her delivery is astounding, each barb hitting its mark with remarkable clarity and conviction.
Melanie Gleeson cuts to the chase, too, in a no nonsense showing as nurse Liz. She swiftly dismisses each apologetic outcry from Charlie, while revealing just how much she cares about him.
Sebastian Li readily channels the dichotomy that is the hallmark of the Christian zealot with a skeleton or two in his closet. Elder Thomas is triggered by Ellie.
Tanya Schneider approaches her persona as Mary as a counterpoint to Charlie. Call her a realist, a cynic, who is rough and ready, someone who has endured much.
So, we are presented with five inspired performances by actors who make each moment count.
Authenticity and practicality are the hallmarks of Catherine Elliott’s costuming.
Set designer Harry Gill has made the most of a small rectangular space, with couch and workstation at one end, kitchen bench in the middle and entrance at the other end.
Also effective are the dramatic sound stings between scenes, crafted by sound designer Jack Burmeister, alongside Kris Chainey’s redolent lighting design.
Director Jennifer Sarah Dean has crafted a vigorous, deeply affecting work, both gritty and engaging, so much so that you dare not look away for a second.
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