Type – Triptych Storytelling, Independent, Climate Anxiety
If you liked – 3 Billion Seconds (KXT), Scenes from the Climate Era (Belvoir St)
The Beautiful Future is Coming: A constrained production eventually finds it feet across three prevalent and layered stories
1856, 2027, 2100 – three stories set centuries apart, all connected through a very prevalent, and very real set of stakes. Flora Wilson Brown‘s The Beautiful Future is Coming is about the end of the world. We know this in both fact and fiction – the world is ending. Brown captures what happens in the in-between.
Sitting in the late night slot at the Old Fitz Theatre, TBFiC dresses itself over the set of the mainstage show – Sonder. Some productions in the double billing at the Fitz pull off this utilisation of an existing set they’re required to work around – others are less successful. New production company, Witches of Waterloo Productions, falls somewhere in the middle.
Director Kim Hardwick dresses the neon mirrored circle on the black box floor with three shelves of escalating heights, each adorned with objects to signify the era of the stories taking place. 1856 New York: old leatherbound books. 2027 London: an assortment of papers and files, picture frames and refillable water bottles. 2100 Svalbard: cold metallic cylinders and glassware, scientific lab equipment and samples. It’s simple without being overstated. If only they could have found this same creativity in the mirrored flooring using Topaz Marlay-Cole‘s lighting.
As we journey throughout three eras of stories, we crawl our way through droll exposition until we get to the meaty parts of Brown’s script.
Eunice (Tierney Clarke) ia a woman ahead of her time. She carries out research into CO2, with her findings leading her to believe that something is most definitely off with the world. Her devoted husband John (Cameron Steven) is left in the middle, grappling with his desire to uphold his wife in all her eccentricities and brain, but knows the limits of an educated woman in their society.
We meet Clare (Liminka Pather) and Dan (Reid Perry) after a night together requires them to fill out HR forms at their office as they start a budding relationship – one built on buying each other coffee, and playful bouts of “fuck you”s – whilst London’s heatwave intensifies.
Ana (Lily Rawson) and Malcolm (Daniel Francis-Swaby) are stuck inside a research facility bunkering down from an 86-day storm that rages outside. With a pregant Ana’s due date coming, it’s all Malcolm can do but to focus on experimenting on the seedlings they hope will grow in the broken atmosphere of the northern hemisphere.
Brown’s script aims to disarm you with humour as she slowly layers in the overarching climate anxiety the characters each face in their varying times. Hardwick’s pacing falls overly flat as the flow of the piece struggles to draw out this humour – but it’s not without trying. Sharp jumps and eerie atmospheres produced in Otto Zagala‘s sound design offer exciting changes of pace, even if they are short-lived.
There’s an inquisitive inventiveness at play here, as the creatives try to navigate what is essentially three duologues interspered over the course of 100 minutes – which, for a late show time slot is perhaps a touch on the long side…my god is that who I am now?
As we transition between each piece, some characters linger, crossing paths with the next. It’s an interesting visual on the notion of time and the much larger concept of our shared cosmic connection when it comes to the impacts we have on the climate. But this technique feels only half realised, particularly when these entrances block the monologue that’s being performed on stage. As the cast exit the space, they stand and watch in the dark – not in the avant-garde way ala-Hamilton‘s ‘History Has It’s Eyes On You’, it’s more in the realm of watching a classmate perform a scene. The intention is so clearly there – but the glue has not yet set.
Interspersed throughout are varied performances of strength and believability. Rawson and Francis-Swaby’s bunkered-in scientists are the most gripping, with the questions of our future left in the things unsaid between the pair. You yearn to know more. Francis-Swaby proves himself a generous acting partner, showing a clear investment in the stakes of their situation, elevating his scenes with Rawson who takes hold of this offering to match him at varying moments.
Pather and Perry’s chemistry needs more nurturing leading up to the finales upheaving moments, but they weren’t without their charm. A playful banter develops between the two, giving Pather enough to chew on in a monologue where she slowly entices you with eloquent storytelling. Clarke and Steven battle through wobbly accents to give a good heft of heart in their performances – Clarke remains a steadfast character, one that is vehemently focused on her life’s path. Steven takes longer to get to the truth of John, but when he does there’s a believability in the enduring love he has for Eunice.
Is The Beautiful Future is Coming Worth Seeing in Sydney?
Witches of Waterloo’s The Beautiful Future is Coming is a solid example of education in performance. The Old Fitz gives new storytellers a space to play with their craft, to stage new works, to learn to produce and to take their lessons to the next stage. If ticket sales speak to anything – then yes, it is worth seeing in Sydney because the short season run is sold out!
There’s a real beauty in seeing new work at play, even if to simply leave the theatre wondering where the creatives and the cast will go next. This team are choosing challenging works, and reaching for the stars, hoping to leave you with enough of a message to take on your journey out. Watch this space.
Tickets and Practical Info for The Beautiful Future is Coming in Sydney 🎟️
18 – 22 May, Old Fitz Theatre – Season Sold Out – Few seats released for Friday 21st
Presenting Company: Witches of Waterloo Productions
Writer: Flora Wilson Brown
Director: Kim Hardwick
Producers: Liminka Pather & Lily Rawson
Associate Producer: Poppy Cozens
Marketing and Assistant Producer: Alex Reid-Queeney
Stage Manager: Kate Moore
Costume & Props Designer: Lily Moody
Costume & Props Assistant: Jazmyn Adey
Lighting Designer: Topaz Marlay-Cole
Sound Designer: Otto Zagala
Dialect: Linda Nicholls-Gidley
Cast (of 6): Liminka Pather (Clare), Lily Rawson (Ana), Tierney Clarke (Eunice), Cameron Steven (John), Reid Perry (Dan), Daniel Francis-Swaby (Malcolm)
