State
Theatre Company - Kryptonite
Space
Theatre, Fri Oct 24
In the space of my lifetime China has changed from a being
pariah state to one that Australia relies on heavily for its economic
well-being. The recent death of Gough Whitlam reminded us all that the change
began in the seventies when he had the wisdom to open relations with China.
China itself has changed a great deal and Beijing has become a modern
metropolis. Outwardly it has become much like any other modern city. But as Kryptonite
reveals, what goes on behind the scenes or under the surface of the apparent
changes in China can still leave the rest of the world mystified about what
really drives this vast nation.
Lian, played by Ursula Mills, was one of the very first
Chinese students to grace our shores in the 1980s. She meets Dylan (Tim Walter),
a fellow student on campus and they are immediately intrigued by each other.
What follows is a series of meetings over the years as their lives change
radically and they attempt to reconcile the feelings they have for each other.
These meetings are set against a backdrop of changing relations between China
and Australia.
The infamous events of Tiananmen Square are a watershed for
their own relationship and that of their respective countries, and is the first
in a series of hiccups that both draws them together and pushes them apart.
This tension is central to the play. No matter how much they are attracted to
each other cultural differences always manage to render an ongoing relationship
difficult.
The scenes early in the play where the young students make
fun of each other as they explore their different backgrounds are quite
endearing, and more importantly, this mutual fascination is authentic and
believable. We want them to be
together. Mills' accent is cute and
fetching and contributes to an air of naivete about her new land, and Walter is
appropriately awkward as the young student. Lian makes fun of Dylan's lack of
ideals and he tries to get her to lighten up. But try as she might her ties
with family back in China work against that. Dylan however, inspired by Lian's
search for meaning and blessed with the freedom of being Australian plunges
into a life where he strives to realise his ideals about the environment and he
enters politics.
In time he finds that politics is a grubby world of
self-interest and muck-raking that drags up innocent details of your past to
make you look unfit for office. Did Lian (China) engineer the sharing of
confidential information for her own gain? Has Dylan (Australia) been caught in
a honey trap? Kryptonite is a complex work, and it feels important. It could easily
be used as a text book for an entire course on intercultural relations or
international politics. It is rich with cultural nuance and political intrigue.
Both Mills' and
Walters' performances are quite wonderful. They quickly had the audience on
side, feeling their pain, and caring about what happens to them. By the time we
reach the present day Dylan's future is squarely in Lian's hands. Her destiny
however is constrained by loyalty to a set of traditional values that conflict
with those that might bring them and their two countries closer together. Sadly,
after decades of close contact they and their countries are still dancing
around the cultural chasm that yawns between them, and are no closer to knowing
what values really drive their respective cultures.
Well written, great set, and clever direction. Instructive,
enlightening, entertaining, important, and also quite funny in parts.
(also published at The Clothesline)
