Return to Earth

Company: Melbourne Theatre Company
Venue: Fairfax Studio, Victorian Arts Centre, Melbourne
Dates: To 17 December 2011

Written by American-born and Melbourne-raised Lally Katz, the Melbourne Theatre company has begun a season of Katz’s latest work, Return to Earth. Starring Eloise Mignon as Alice, it is the story of a young traveller who returns to her sleepy hometown of Tathra, where she tries to re-acquaint herself with long forgotten friends and family. Unfortunately for Alice, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Return to Earth is, quite simply, beautiful. Performed at the Arts Centre in the Fairfax Studio, the stage space is small and intimate, but the set is so intricately constructed, it creates the illusion of space, time and distance. Mignon is wonderfully dreamy and lost as Alice, a girl who is still searching for herself despite all the time she has already invested into her personal journey.

She reunites with her parents, Wendy (Julie Forsyth) and Cleveland (Kim Gyngell), who capture the warmth and cosiness of a long married suburban couple who love and fuss over their child like she is still a little girl, which in many ways, she is. She also re-establishes a relationship with her brother Tom (Tim Ross) and his daughter, Catta (played on alternate days by Allegra Annetta, Talia Christopoulous and Matilda Weaver). Alice also struggles to reaffirm her friendship with Jeannie (Anne-Louise Sparks), but as that flounders, she falls hopelessly in love for the first time, with a shy and engaging fisherman named Theo (Anthony Ahern).

Katz’s writing is unusual and non-linear, and what appears to be a very basic storyline in Return to Earth in fact has many layers. It is a disjointed dream sequence that Katz concedes is quite autobiographical. “It’s sort of my family but in a removed reality, a kind of dream version of them… The main character is me, the me I would have been if I’d taken a completely different path when I was sixteen years old,” she explains. And on that obscure note, the play unfolds.

Designed by Claude Marcos, the set is just magical. On a rotating stage, the town of Tathra sparkles above them. The lights of the houses are dim and the feel of actually being at the seaside is rife. The sound effects utilised are authentic and perfectly timed, enhanced by the phosphorescent glow of the segregated overhead spotlights. The overall effect is colourful and original, adding to the mystique of the script.

Return to Earth is a unique blend of comedy, tragedy and drama. It is a bittersweet story of a lost identity, the passion of selfishness and the heartbreaking honesty of what can happen when love just isn’t enough. Directed by Griffin Award winning Aidan Fennessy, Return to Earth runs at The Art Centre until December 17. 

Corina Thorose