Heavenly Bodies + Beautiful Souls

This remarkable double bill of hour-long works showcases the sublime writing skills of bold and innovative local playwright Sven Swenson.

Heavenly Bodies is set in a room in a brothel in World War II at the fall of Singapore, as Aussie digger Cutty Cutler (Sam Ryan) has a liaison with Laidie (Regan Lynch). As the bombs fall (kudos to Ryan Mahony's sound design, they are truly unsettling) and klaxons wail, the seemingly mismatched pair — the naive country boy who's never fired a gun and is faithful to his wife, and the worldly but lonely transgender sex worker — find a tender moment together. Swenson's dialogue is spot-on, and Cutty's country Australianisms a particular delight, and both actors turn in heartbreakingly honest, emotionally raw and real performances in this profoundly moving piece about acceptance, identity and human connection.

Beautiful Souls is set in a Thai prison, with Bethany (Casey Woods), David (Zachary Boulton) and his brain-damaged brother Justin (Peter Norton) locked up for drug-smuggling and awaiting hanging. It's an intense hour, and you can feel the grief and rage and frustration and fear pouring from Woods and Boulton, while Norton provides delicious stabs of dark humour in his relationship with his brother, which calls to mind Martin McDonagh's Katurian brothers in The Pillowman. The actors never get to look at one another — they're in separate cells — but the wonderful performances and the tight, sharp script tell this story of redemption. Incidentally, in a lovely flourish, the boys are decendants of Cutty and a photograph mentioned in the first play is a plot point in this one.

This double-header represents some of the best theatre happening in Brisbane and like all of Swenson's work is challenging, rewarding, no-holds-barred first-class drama.