It is 1942, and Japanese troops are moving steadily closer to Australia.
In Brisbane, 14 year old Danny Fisher (Dash Kruck) is in the shadow of his talented older brother Frank (Conrad Coleby), who is the apple of his mother’s eye, and the pride of his father—Frank is now a pilot, flying Kittyhawks for the RAAF. Danny has a vivid imagination, and spends much of his time writing stories—Danny acts as narrator of this particular autobiographical story.
The brothers are close, and Danny sees Frank’s budding relationship with girlfriend Rose (Lucy Goleby) evolve. When Frank is killed in the bombing of Darwin, Danny witnesses the rapid unravelling of his once close family, and we see how the approaching war front affects family, friends, neighbours, and the people of Brisbane.
With a bleak backdrop of radio broadcasts, giving disquieting news in stoic tones, and newsreels spiked with stories of Japanese atrocities and alarming propaganda at The Regent cinema, the mood becomes fearful and sinister.
US troops arriving by ship just before Christmas in 1941 were initially welcomed with almost hysterical relief by the people of Brisbane, however their arrival ultimately introduces a further element of tension, as competition for the romantic attentions of the local girls brings the Australian Diggers and the better paid, more sophisticated US GIs into conflict. It does, however, also allow for some moments of pure comedy, in the form of an imagined conversation between General MacArthur (whose headquarters were in Brisbane from 1942) and General Monash (invoked by Danny’s father, who served under him in WWI), arguing over, amongst other things, the best way to woo women.
Naturally, the American soldiers do win a lot of Brisbane girls’ hearts, to the disgust of the Australians, and brawls and knife fights break out, culminating in the ‘Battle of Brisbane’, involving civilians and soldiers alike.
CLICK: Opening night photos
Danny spends time with his brother’s grieving girlfriend who treats him like a sister and wants to stay friends, but Danny misreads the signals, with expectedly awkward results. During their time together, we wander through the streets of Brisbane, and visit Cloudland Ballroom (which caused a ripple of nostalgic recognition through the audience), for some jitterbugging with the soldiers on leave (cue some clever trapeze stagecraft).
Danny trespasses at Eagle Farm airport to get a closer look at the American warplanes, and discovers the Kittyhawks salvaged from the Darwin bombing—he befriends an American serviceman, Andy (also played by Conrad Coleby), who teaches him how to fly a plane (at least in theory!).
Danny is regularly aided and abetted in his adventures by feisty neighbour Patty (Harriet Dyer), who wears a leg brace, but who packs quite a punch in defence of Danny, when skirmishing with the local bullies. With her foul language and tomboy attitude, Patty steals the hearts of the audience, and eventually, Danny’s too.
The sinister sound of air-raid sirens raises goosebumps, and the play becomes darker, as Danny’s mother and father struggle to come to terms with the loss of their elder son, and the people of Brisbane build trenches to act as air raid shelters, and scan the skies for Japanese Zeroes. Danny returns to the airfield in a bid to become a hero, and win the respect of his family, with dramatic consequences.
Matthew Ryan's relatively simple storyline with its myriad references to Brisbane landmarks resonated with a local audience, and allowed the many excellent actors to shine. Set design is a QTC forte, and this was no exception—this, the largest set they have ever created, blended instantly recognisable local architectural features with stunning lighting, sound and direction.
READ: Our interview with Dash Kruck (Danny)
The lighting in particular was very effective, with the use of uplighters through the floorboards giving an impression of searchlights in the background, and with the use of foreground spotlighting to create full-sized shadow aeroplanes from models used on stage, and with shadow-play used to great effect to illustrate the graphic news bulletins.
Although the subject matter is bleak, as in real life there are many moments of comedy, and this is a marvellous production, chronicling a young man’s abrupt transition to adulthood, against a backdrop of war and family tragedy, and incorporating a sentimental journey through the Brisbane of the 1940’s.
‘Brisbane’, written by Matthew Ryan, plays at The Playhouse, QPAC, until the 2nd of May.
