Theatre - Moving Target - The Studio, Sydney Opera House

Reviews, By dreadcircus, 10th April, 2008

I took on this review knowing nothing about this show and was really excited about like it was a blind date. Thankfully this was a blind date worth remembering. Director Benedict Andrews’ vision comes to life on the stage like a show bag full of human emotions.

Originally this show came together with hours upon hours of improvisation between the actors involved. As I read about the show briefly and noticed that it all came together through the use of workshops, improvisation and character development through real life experiences, it became apparent I was going to enjoy it.

The space on stage was exactly that, a vast amount of room with scattered furniture and six average people loitering around the space. The lights went down and not much changed as the characters continued to interact in a very minimal way. This was only the calm before the storm to follow.

Moving Target is set around a group of paranoid adults who are so scared of their children’s antics that their lives are consumed with fear. So much fear in fact, that they are even too afraid to confront their children on simple matters. It seems in this world that the fear of children has spread so far that there are even therapy services to keep the parents feeling safe by providing a space for them to report on their kids’ activities.

I must admit the explanation above barely covers the amount of layers buried deep within this play. Moving Target is absorbing, provocative, hard hitting and hilarious. The first half of the show had me in stitches. The combination of such an interesting main concept meshed together with the childhood game hide and seek was gut wrenchingly funny and at times so sad I was fighting back tears.

Watching a group of six paranoid adults irrationally discussing ideas on how to report their child to authorities in between numerous games of hide and seek really created an atmosphere like nothing I’ve seen before. The characters exploded into chaos each time the counting to one hundred began. Furniture was thrown around, clothing swapped as they scrambled to find a new hiding space each time on a stage littered with only a couch, table, rug, blanket, chair and a sleeping bag. Each time the madness settled and everybody was found, you got a sense of relief when the characters were found, like all of us when we get lost. This aspect of the show was very profound and powerful.

In fact so much of Moving Target is an exercise in social commentary, laden with every emotion known to humans, so much so that it’s quite a lot to absorb within the space of time provided.

I must admit just over halfway I felt the play got somewhat lost and seemed to stagger around blindly. The audience became bored and even one guy in the audience fell asleep and began to snore. As Moving Target is based on improvisations based on the characters during years of workshops and building trust between the six actors, one must expect a lull in proceedings. Be assured the end of the show picked up once again and ended in total chaos which was once again a thrill to watch.

I must conclude with the amazing performances by the six actors – Alison Bell, Julie Forsyth, Rita Kalnejais, Matthew Whittet and my favorite Hamish Michael were absolutely stellar. All six were totally unique and perfectly hand chosen to make this play come to life. It was obvious that the workshops, interactions and stories these six shared during the creation of Moving Target really shaped the core of the show.

In short, Moving Target is fantastic. I left the show with my partner talking about it all the way home. What I got from the show will be completely different to the next person, as it is brimming with layer upon layer of great social commentary and packed full of laughs. Thoroughly enjoyable!

Moving Target is playing at The Studio, Sydney Opera House until April 13.