Intense and disturbing

FOUR people arrive at a lakeside bach for the weekend, and tempers explode almost immediately. It isn’t just the pouring rain, the leaky roof, the dangerously flickering light and the nasty smell — it’s also two years since Liam died.

Essentially, this is a play about the death of child, and how people handle grief. Jack’s grandson’s death is tied up with Jack's own unconquerable guilt, grandmother Shirley is resourceful in a traditional Kiwimother way, and daughterinlaw Tonia is almost ready to rebuild her life. Mark, Liam’s father, is a mess, and his internal torment manifests itself as rage. A happy family weekend this is not.

Carl Nixon’s awardwinning play is so intense that it seems like a vortex, dragging the audience into its centre. As well as the mundane reality of the bach there’s another aspect: a deep lake said to contain a monster. It also has a raft, built long ago by Jack, symbolising something that Mark can never quite reach.

The Globe’s production, intelligently and sensitively directed by Sofie Welvaert, maintains the sense of danger from the first moments.

As Mark, Cheyne Jenkinson is painfully good, bringing a finely tuned understanding of his character’s psychology to the part of Mark and showing how grief can become selfish and destructive. Kay Masters’ and Globe newcomer Sheree Hawker’s portrayals of Shirley Tonia are sympathetic and capable, Ray Spence does a good job of presenting the not very articulate older New Zealand male, though his performance would be improved by more varied volume and tone.

The sense of menace is heightened by the lighting by Brian and Jamie Byas, sound by Dylan Shield and a mural by Chris Vialle. The very realistic bach has been constructed by Ray Fleury, Helen Davies and Shannon McLaren and allows both interior and exterior action.

This disturbing, involving production is the Globe’s first this year, and will run until September 26.