ATYP's All Good Things is the final instalment of The Voices Project, an (until now) annual production of seven-minute monologues for 17-year-old actors. Iain Sinclair directs this final instalment, which sees each monologue meditate upon the theme of departure.
This was an interesting project. It is a gateway for young Australian acting and writing talents, an accessibility-fest into Sydney's theatre. This is a great thing. The stories each come from an intimate place, and some lack the scope of self-awareness of the greater world. They all have the sting of an autobiographical piece; the character always seems close at hand to the writing. This can be refreshing at times, but also trite. It's a bittersweet relationship when the joy of young writing is shaded with inexperience.
The acting featured a similar bittersweet tang, with few performances becoming transformative opportunities, and others simply limp. Moreblessing Maturure stood out in the imposing story of a trans teen with kleptomania. This monologue was well measured and aware, gentle in its delivery and devastating in its conclusion. The use of lighting interspersed with the stories was poetic, simple and effective. The show's ambitions to break the fourth wall and engage with the audience were brilliant, bringing the characters' stories out from the stage and into reality. Having given this praise, if there were to be one issue, it would be the denseness with which the theme 'departure' was treated. Death, death, and death became a little repetitive a reference point.
Fresh, wet behind the ears, and ultimately an affirming production, ATYP's All Good Things is well worth showing support for.
