Bird's Eye View

Helicopter, a new work by Real TV in association with MTC, will not be a pleasure ride (pun intended!) if previous plays by Angela Betzien are anything to go by. “I write stories that reflect diversity,” says Betzien, who, with collaborator director Leticia Caceres, formed theatre company Real TV in Queensland. The two have brought a number of confronting, highly regarded works to the Australian stage.  “We've had lots of conversations about Australian theatre and how white it is,” Betzien continues. “It's all white faces on stage; it's not reflective of the faces we see on the street.” Helicopter tells of a privileged Anglo-Australian family whose carefully monitored existence is confronted with the differences between the first and third worlds in unimaginable ways. Terry Yeboah plays a Sudanese refugee, Thomas. “For a white Australian writer to take on a narrative about an African character, was a delicate process,” Betzien continues. “We worked closely with a dramaturg [Iain Sinclair] who grew up in Uganda. We followed protocol and worked in consultation with a range of African artists and with Terry [Yeboah], who was born in Ghana.”

The story of Helicopter draws from various sources. “In Brisbane, I saw this lovely, recently-renovated house and there was an African family next door in a rented, un-renovated house,” Betzien recalls. “It showed the extreme differences between them, the divide in terms of money.” Events Betzien read about in the media also contributed to the story of Helicopter, along with her wanting to write a part for Yeboa. Betzien's collaboration with Caceres means that works begin as intense conversation. “We often are inspired by real events,” Betzien says. “Every play is a result of a unique relationship. The very first idea starts with a conversation with Leticia.” Real TV have often aimed their work at younger audiences and Betzien is acutely aware of the pitfalls of writing about big issues. She says she has “been brutal” with the script of Helicopter in order to avoid any charge of preaching. “With young audiences, especially, they don't want a message. This story is about big ideas. It's a story about parenting, about global issues, about disparities between developing world and Western world... To distil those big ideas into a story that [is] emotionally embedded in the story, we've ripped out anything preachy, anything that reeks of my voice. I'm killing my darlings all the time!”

Betzien says she has explored form in a new way with Helicopter. “I always want to create something I haven't done before. It starts off relatively naturalistically, then fragments. I'm certainly delving into visual surrealism, into theatrically magical things.” The writer recently spent four months in Berlin soaking up the atmosphere. “I went to see a lot of contemporary German drama; they're amazing dramatists with a bold visual style. It had a huge impact”. As well as having Paul Denny in the cast, for whom she has previously written a part, Betzien is especially excited to have created a strong female character for Daniela Farinacci. “I've admired her for years. There are so few good roles for women that age.”

Helicopter runs from Thursday 2 August until 17 August, 7.30pm, MTC Lawler Studio.