 Human Sacrifice Theatre
Chapel off Chapel
Until July 27
Sam Shepard is always good value as an actor or writer. His play, The Late Henry Moss, dates from 2000, and like most of his work is about the uneasy relationship between two brothers and the memory of absent parents. This time, though, a detective story is thrown into the mix.
After seven years, brothers Earl (Lee Mason) and Ray (Mark Diaco) reunite in their dilapidated family home in New Mexico following the death of their father, Henry (Bruce Kerr). The existing rift between the brothers worsens because of Earl’s secrecy about Henry’s death and his fear of moving the body. The slow-witted Ray pieces together the events himself. Through flashbacks we see the old and alcoholic Henry with his Mexican lover, Conchalla (Marcella Russo), hire a taxi, go fishing and later, die.
Shepard’s plays often contrast simple drama with denser imagery. Here, the mystery of Henry’s death, with Conchalla looming over him like an evil spirit, is solved with some credulity-stretching symbolism that’s at odds with the rest of the play.
Elsewhere there are alternating bouts of realism and surrealism. Ray constantly forgets things Earl explained to him only minutes before, while the comical presence of Henry’s Mexican neighbour, Esteban (Alex Pinder); the gormless taxi driver (Justin Hocking); and Conchalla bathing fully clothed while devouring a raw fish slacken the otherwise tight story.
Director David Myles keeps things moving. After the opening scene, where the brothers stare at each other across a table, there is always some action to watch. What we see of Henry is a haunted man near death; not than the brutal tyrant who destroyed his family, with Kerr emphasising the character’s doom. Live guitar music underscores the action at certain points.
Mason and Diaco are outstanding as the brothers. Like lonesome cowboys, they’re the archetype of the shattered American dream. Diaco particularly is riveting as the volatile Ray. His drawling, snake-eyed presence, uncomprehending one moment, exploding into violence the next, is an unnerving performance.
Despite the baroque excess of some elements in Shepard’s script, this is an excellent production, and this belated Australian premiere is very welcome.
www.humansacrificetheatre.com
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