The Golden Age (STC 2016)

The Golden Age was a production of Louis Nowra's The Golden Age that was produced by the Sydney Theatre Company. It was performed at the The Wharf Theatre from 14 January to 20 February 2016. The production was directed by Kip Williams and starred Robert Menzies, Sarah Peirse, Rarriwuy Hick and Ursula Yovich.

Adaptation
Director Kip Williams has said that developing a refreshed version of The Golden Age was key to gaining the support of playwright Louis Nowra. Williams said of Nowra, "He’s the kind of writer who wants to see his work interpreted anew every time. He's been adamant that he wants to be delighted and surprised when he comes to see it on opening night. He's an incredibly generous writer in giving us his support and being willing to answer any question I might have. The play is now 30 years old and Louis is very interested in having it interpreted afresh for a contemporary audience."Williams conceded, however, that "the daunting challenge" of staging The Golden Age in 2016 is that it was last performed in 1987. He added that the motivation behind proceeding with such a production is that there is a general feeling of "desire to reinvent and better understand our collective Australian identity," which is a process that The Golden Age allows for.

When questioned in an interview about why a production of The Golden Age should be staged in 2016, he explained that "the work examines the way in which one culture imposes itself upon another, and the ultimate crumbling of civilisation that occurs at the hand of this brutal process. It's a story that grapples with our colonial history, as well as with the trauma of the first half of the twentieth century." He suggested that, as a play that questions the idea of national identity and cultural participation, it is "the perfect story through which to reflect upon the Australian national identity."

Conception and development
The conception and development of this production was largely inspired by the themes and scope of Nowra's original play. Williams points out that, as the play marks a turning point in Australian writing, "Nowra is actively seeking to depart from the domestic setting of many of the plays of the Australian New Wave...The narrative stretches from the Southern wilds of Tasmania, to war-torn Berlin. It grapples with cultural identity, class divide, language and storytelling, sexual awakening, government control of information, and more." As such, Williams felt that the production had to represent this vast array of themes through the lens of the diversity of Australian experience.

Reflecting this diversity, the production's cast had a diverse array of cultural backgrounds. For example, Remy Hii, a Chinese-Malay-Australian actor, was cast as the son of Indigenous actress, Ursula Yovich, and Caucasian Australian actor, Robert Menzies. Hii said in an interview that such casting decisions "couldn't happen on Australian film or TV these days. But, on stage, the audience takes more responsibility for creating the world and exploring the connotations of what that casting means for the story."

Staging and performance
Designer David Fleischer's costume design was inspired by a combination of the apparent real-world conditions that these characters would exist in and a desire to express their personality. Their costumes were based on assemblages of 1850s clothing. Fleischer explained, "The way I think about it is that these characters are wearing clothes that don’t strictly belong to them. For example, a jacket worn by someone actually belonged to their father or someone else who happened to be part of the first generation of the group."

The set comprised a large mound of soil in the middle of a largely bare stage, around which tables, chairs and other props were added as appropriate for each scene. Fleischer said that this set was an allegory of dispossession. He added that, "while it’s not necessarily a story about land, having the texture of earth as a strong, singular theatrical gesture gives this epic story the weight it deserves. It’s a delicate play with great depth and complexity and, in many ways, this distillation is the best way to allow that complexity to be illuminated.”

Reception
This production was generally well-received by both critics and audiences. Jason Blake of the Sydney Morning Herald gave the production 3.5/5 stars and praised its "strong directorial hand," the casting and the versatility of the set design. Blake further praised its connection with other productions in STC's 2016 season, suggesting that it, along with The Secret River and Griffin Theatre's Thomas Murray and the Upside Down River production, forms a trilogy that addresses "the legacies of white settlement." He also called its interplay of ideas powerful but "occasionally stilted in its expression of them."

Other critical reviews from prominent news sources, such as TimeOut, The Guardian and Australian Book Review, gave the production 4/5 stars and generally lauded its "colour-blind" casting, production design (the theatricality of the space combined with the lighting design), and its uncompromising treatment of the themes of the play. Rarriwuy Hick, Sarah Peirse and Brandon McClelland's performance also received frequent praise.