Cast stretch beyond stereotypes
What could have been delicate and difficult is handled with compassion and courage in compelling theatre
As the parent of a neurodiverse child, I was a little bit nervous when the team at TET Cue Theatre, Inglewood announced they were putting on Burning Bridges by Amy Shindler.
Shindler’s play has been critiqued by some in the neurodiverse community as leaning into a tired narrative that autism is a disruptive force, with meltdowns, unreasonable (to the neurotypical community) behaviours and other characteristics that can be mined for humour, rather than viewed sympathetically.
Aware of this critique, I wasn’t sure I would enjoy the play, and was definitely on edge as the curtain lifted.
Once Jasmine Gallagher stepped onto the stage, however, in her role as the autistic young adult, Sarah, I felt myself relax.
Gallagher is an actor as thoughtful as she is talented, and under Sharren Read’s direction she brings her character’s neurodiversity to life in a sympathetic and nuanced way.
Gallagher beautifully kept the balance of bringing her character’s stated neurodiverse traits to life without ever falling into unkind comedy. Her voice work in particular was outstanding, bringing a specific tonality and repetitiveness that captured her character’s uniqueness.
The backstage team behind wardrobe and hair did a fantastic job as well in creating a look for the character of Sarah that was distinctive without straying into caricature territory.
As Sarah’s brother-in-law Dan, Josh McKee was excellent.
His role could, with a lesser actor in the part, push the play into an uncomfortable space, but instead he drew the audience in, taking them with him on his journey of discovering neurodiversity in all its forms, from the bits that we find easy to love, to the bits that are frustrating or even unintentionally hurtful at times to those living alongside it.
It’s through his character that the audience get to know Sarah — it’s through his experience of meeting her for the first time, and learning to live with her that the audience see how her behaviours and needs can be viewed by those who haven’t known her all her life.
While the play’s script and direction sometimes lean into ableist tropes, McKee doesn’t let his character draw the audience into some sense of mockery or dislike of Sarah’s neurodiversity, but instead takes them on a journey with him as he gets to know, and actually care for, his sister-in-law as a person.
As Kate, Sarah’s sister, Briar Tucker has a challenging role, but it’s one she makes look effortless on stage. Kate is newly married to Dan, who she also works with.
There are already tensions in the marriage after Dan received a promotion Kate felt she was in line for, and the arrival of her sister, Sarah, puts further pressure on the marriage.
As Kate grapples with the sense of responsibility for an adult sister who she doesn’t view as being able to live independently, she begins to question if she wants to be a mother.
Kate’s slide into depression and anger is beautifully portrayed by Tucker, who shows great emotional range as she moves between the varying emotions and conflicting feelings Kate is dealing with.
Regan Tate makes two welcome cameo appearances in the play, firstly as a police officer and then, more memorably, as a waiter in a very trendy bar. His eye roll and flounce as his customers fail to appreciate the creativity of the menu offerings brings some wonderful comedic relief in an otherwise tense scene.
As director, Sharren Read is to be commended for the sympathetic and insightful telling of this story.
Every part of the production is well put together, from casting to wardrobe, to set design to music. Lighting was particularly well used, with some longer fades on scene ends used particularly well. A particularly strong moment in the play is when, just as many people do, Dan falls into the trap of presuming all neurodiverse people are the same, and asks Sarah if she’s good with numbers.
“I’m not Rainman,” she angrily retorts, and that line captures all that is right with this play, as well as all that is wrong.
Just as Sarah isn’t Rainman, neither does this script capture everyone’s experience of neurodiversity. What this script does do, thanks to an experienced and thoughtful director along with some incredibly talented actors, is build a play that, despite a problematic or flawed script, rises above the ableist tropes to become a thoughtprovoking narrative in an outstanding piece of theatre.