4000 Miles
University of Adelaide Theatre Guild,
Little Theatre, Sat 9 Oct
Amy Herzog’s Pulitzer Prize
winning 4000 Miles covers a lot of territory. It skips across multiple
social and political issues affecting the contemporary American landscape.
Ageism, dementia, the generation gap, incest, blended families, communism,
gender balance in relationships, the importance of real communication, the role
of therapy, alienation and loneliness to name a few. And yet not for one minute
does it get bogged down in polemics or virtuous lecturing. Indeed, these are
all side issues neatly woven into the basic tale of a young man trying to
reconnect with family via his grandmother after an exhilarating and
heartbreaking bicycle journey across America.
His grandmother, Vera, is in her 80s and lives alone. Though she
is struggling with the old age curse of forgetfulness, she is still sharp enough
to surprise her grandson with insights about politics and her past. Vera is
wonderfully played by Julie Quick. You are immediately drawn into her
increasingly lonely world and share her childlike excitement when her grandson
Leo, played by Jackson Barnard, decides to stay awhile with her in her New York
apartment. Barnard does a good job of playing the confused young man who slowly
learns to relate to his grandma who chatters way incessantly while the young
Leo struggles to get a word in. It’s endearing to watch their relationship grow
and a shared rooftop joint ironically cements the connection!
Two strong, self-assured performances by two of Leo’s love
interests complete the cast line-up. Naomi Gomez is gorgeous and beguiling as
Amanda, the ditzy young thing whose language skills don’t appear to extend much
further than the ubiquitous ‘oh my god’. Leo brings Amanda home to grandma’s
apartment and this delightful comedic scene adds an unexpected element to the
ongoing theme of communism.
Director Erik Strauts’ direction is unintrusive and suitably
uncomplicated. Excellent use is made of the Little Theatre’s split levels and
multiple entry and exit points. Slightly longer than usual interludes between
scenes gave the audience opportunity to enjoy Emma Knight’s original piano
pieces written specifically for this production, and reflect on what they had
just seen.
Really entertaining theatre. Easy to enjoy, plenty to think
about if you want to go deeper and in the delightful space that is the Little
Theatre, everyone is close to the action.
(This review also published on The Clothesline.)
