THEATRE

THE SHIRALEE

Drama Theatre, un til November 29

Reviewed by JOHN SHAND

★★★

A deep sense of mythology surrounds the reader in D’Arcy Niland’s 1955 novel, The Shiralee . It’s as if the very landscape of mid-20th-century Australia is misanthropic, while those inhabiting it can be as deadly as brown snakes.

In adapting the novel, playwright Kate Mulvany and director Jessica Arthur (for Sydney Theatre Company) have been aware of this quality, but they’ve only partially succeeded in transmitting it through their production. Too often this feels like a musical minus the songs: as gooey as a box of chocolates in the sun when attempting warmth of heart, and a little lame and stagy when shooting for menace.

Kate Mulvany, Ziggy Resnick and Josh McConville in The Shiralee for the Syd

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