A charmingly modest confection, this production is powered along by its quartet of appealing performances.

In a derelict house scheduled for demolition, four ghostly tenants – two veterans and two relative newbies – grow fretful over what this eviction means for their continued existence. Comfortably settled in the environment, the disruption is seen as a possible journey’s end. Caretaker Joanne, imperturbable Ted, anxious Alex, and dreamy Mara float about the condemned space, unmoored, the reassurance of their daily routines threatened by disorderly change. Conscientious custodians of the property, they affably conduct their quotidian activities – cleaning and tidying, switching lights on and off, making meals. Quite without realising it, they have come to form a makeshift family, establishing low-key but powerful ties. 

Censure of the sometimes inhuman, inconsiderate machine of regeneration trampling over established populations is palpable but measured in the script by writer KT Miles, never slipping into screed. The group is deemed undesirable and unwanted so will be swept aside in favour of the more ‘acceptable,’ no matter their inalienable rights. They are the unseen and the unsung. Joanne’s attempt to communicate with foreman Harry is a debacle which hastens the work of dismantlement. Sensitive souls Alex and Mara spend their days in reverie. (Restless Alex often wakes up on the floor after having sleepwalked during the night.) They climb to the quiet of the attic to better appreciate birdsong. Mara carries her sketchbook with her, recording all she observes. Both tremble in their fragility and youth, most at harm.

Thoughtful Ted, holding on to his porcelain cat for solace, is clearest in seeing the potentialities of their situation, the benefits of everything crashing down around them. What could be worse than what has already happened to them?

All have come from backgrounds of regret, loneliness and self-despair. In this particular home, over the course of nebulous time, they have found a measure of peace in one another. The occasion of certain forfeit brings to the fore a crystallisation of not only their individual plights but the comforts they have taken in each other’s presence. Narrative drive in the second half of the show is purely verbal, as each occupant recounts personal history in a surfeit of confession. The cost to pace could have been measurable. 

To the credit of Verna Vyas, Mac Cambley, Ross Barbour and Veronica Schweiger, along with director Greta Rilletti-Zaltieri, this dialogue has shape, verve, and movement. It is active.

Inevitable destruction arrives, but so, too, does an unexpected resilience. A survival beyond defeat. And an opportunity to walk outside the parameters. Best yet, the four have been confirmed a solid unit.

One caveat: the visual insistence of having the script, line-by-line, appear at stage corner was quite distracting. At times, I was engrossed in comparing/contrasting the dialogue as written with the actors’ varying interpretations. It may have been intended as a reflection of the themes of appearance and disappearance, of apparition, but it too often pulled focus and felt unnecessary.

Yet this is a gentle, calm piece overall, the characters generating a warmth and vividness quite beyond their incorporeality. 

{🎟 AD – PR invite – Tickets were gifted in exchange for an honest review}

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