One of Australia’s most highly regarded and celebrated plays, 'A Stretch Of The Imagination', is returning to the stage at Adelaide’s Holden Street Theatres this winter for a strictly limited season.
Jack Hibberd’s 1972 monodrama, is considered the magnum opus of his career, and explores the lonely life of Monk O’Neill, a distinctly unpleasant man. He lives in a self-imposed exile, in a humpy on One Tree Hill, but underneath his aggression, crudity and callous rejection of other human beings, there is despair. He’s lacked the courage to commit to intimacy and now he is on a quest to find his self.
Monk O’Neill is considered by many as one of the greatest creations of Australian literature, and bringing this iconic character to life is no other than critically acclaimed actor, Marc Clement ('Alfie', 'Reservoir Dogs').
Clement says the writing really struck a chord with him, and he knew after reading the script that he would have to perform it one day.
“I read it about three years ago, but I had heard about it many, many times and when I finally read it, I was just like, 'this is 'wow’!'.”
Clement is known for mostly performing two-handers, but when his fellow acting partner was unavailable, he decided it was time to set the wheels in motion for a one-man show and 'A Stretch Of The Imagination' immediately came to mind. “I’d thought of doing a one-man show for a while, and when the other actor wasn’t available, I thought it was a sign to do it, and then the author, Jack Hibberd, died late last year, and I thought that was a bit more of a prompt to bring his work to life and give it a crack.”
Clement credits Hibberd’s ‘poetic writing’ as to why 'A Stretch Of The Imagination' has continued to remain as one of Australia’s most celebrated and highly-regarded plays. “The writing is just so poetic. It’s honestly unlike anything I’ve ever read before. It’s beautifully written, it’s a true Australian feeling of the ups and downs of life, and the reminiscing. The words are so powerful and so poetic. I’ve marketed it as a poignant poetic satire, because I think anyone who comes and hears these beautiful words will be blown away by the beautiful writing from this talented man.”
Helming the upcoming production at Holden Street Theatres, is acclaimed director and acting coach to the stars, Tony Knight who is known internationally for training the likes of two-time Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett and Emmy-Winner Sarah Snook. “[With the direction] we love for the actor to be central to tell the story, it’s a pretty minimalistic look, so the actor can’t get lost in the story.”
While Clement says there are unique pressures when performing a one-man show and to not having any cast members to “bounce off on”, he says his long-standing working relationship with Knight makes it much easier. “Tony needs to just give me a look and we both know what he’s thinking.”
Clement sees many more solo shows in his future, and has founded a new production company, SOLUS, which derives from the Greek word which means alone, where he hopes to produce more solo shows. “'Baby Reindeer' came out and that would be something I’d like to do, but I definitely do want to delve more into solo shows in the future.”
In the meantime, Clement hopes audiences will resonate with 'A Stretch Of The Imagination'’s story and be reminded that we have one short life to live, that should be celebrated and well lived. He credits that powerful message to the play’s success over the last few decades. “I think it’s the strength of the words [in the play] that has resonated with audiences all around the world.”
'A Stretch Of The Imagination' plays Holden Street Theatres (Adelaide) 24 June-5 July.
