Escaped Alone and What If If Only
A world-first pairing of two separate works from one of the world's greatest living playwrights. Melbourne Theatre Company Artistic Director Anne-Louise Sarks directs What If If Only, the micro-meditation on grief and possibility; and Escaped Alone, a visionary play about afternoon tea and the apocalypse.
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An Obie Award-winner several times over, Caryl Churchill is widely considered one of the world’s greatest living playwrights. In this world-first theatrical experience, Melbourne Theatre Company Artistic Director Anne-Louise Sarks directs two separate Caryl Churchill works: What If If Only, the micro-meditation on grief and possibility starring Alison Bell; and Escaped Alone, a visionary play starring Helen Morse, alongside Kate Hood, Debra Lawrance and Deidre Rubenstein, about afternoon tea and the apocalypse.
In Escaped Alone, a woman joins her three neighbours for an afternoon of swapping memories and sharing secrets, in between the telling of catastrophic events, bleak but blackly humorous. In What If If Only, a partner laments their lost love and conjures up countless possible futures, with and without love. In both works, the characters’ hopes, fears and dreams are palpable, visceral and remarkable.
Showcasing the dazzling alchemy of Churchill’s writing, these two short works are separate plays that share some deep thematic parallels. Their combination in Sarks’s hands promises a profound, surreal, funny and thrilling theatrical experience.
Feedback/Comments
Great show
An utterly engaging performance
Really related to ‘What if’ about grief.
Great performances and thought provoking theatre. I loved that Caryl Churchill stipulated that the cast of Escaped Alone was only to be women over 70 years.
Unique plays, very enjoyable evening.
It was an amazing ensemble of talented performers of a certain age specified by the playwrite which was a great thing to see. I found myself mesmerised by the ideas, memories, thoughts, chit chat, revelations passing between the ladies.
Acting was wonderful, great diverse cast members was a joy to watch. Intelligent & thought provoking works. Thnx for the offer. We enjoyed it
Great acting, interesting thought-provoking plays
Not my cup of tea
Great! I like it especially what if if ony.
Fantastic plays, very interesting, thought provoking and entertaining
Really enjoyable
Great performance. Lots of detail in two short plays, and a lot to think about.
Escaped Alone was chit-chat amongst 3 women neighbours sitting in a wild garden (which made for distracting staging) and another woman who delivered profound discourse every now and again about a catastrophe ( A meteorite hitting the earth?).
Entertain us please, not show off your way with words...
The second piece was okay. When a theme, a premise, a plot point or a punchline is revealed, don't labour it. We, the audience are smarter than you think, and we get what's going on, we'd prefer story development, more mystery unraveling, more suspense. We want the first coat of paint, not the second and the third.
Great performance and interesting staging.
Lovely, practical theatre, excellent acoustics, plenty of space both on stage and the seating.
The staging was thoughtful,
In the first play the relatable characters intermingled with a surrealistic apocalypse. It moved well, and the actors had a great handle on their craft. So many subjects covered in a quick succession.
The second play, was about grief, but could have been any subject from within a personal discovery. Very deep writing, about the human condition.
Thoroughly enjoyed the show.
Great sets