The theatregoers enter Fairfax Studio to the sight of a very convincing facsimile courtroom. Not the grand, wooden, Law & Order type, but rather the white tables and conference-room chairs of the real thing. It's as close to a genuine trial as possible without a true conviction - right down to the "actors" making their cases.
Please, Continue takes Shakespeare's royal murder mystery Hamlet and does what many have tried and ultimately failed to do before it, bringing the story into the modern world. Instead of some quasi-gritty urban reboot, the story instead simply presents the facts to the people. Of course, this is done with a more professional essence than usual: the judge, lawyers and forensic pathologists taking to the stage are all the real deal, sourced from Victoria's legal system.
It has often been said that lawyers are glorified actors, but to see the adage be put to the test before an audience is incredibly satisfying. As the prosecution team of Sally Flynn and Rachel Ellyard take on the defence of Julian Burnside and Lucy Kirwan, the inner cog work of a barrister's mind clicks frantically for all to see. The teams spar back and forth while The Hon Ray Finkelstein resides over the proceedings, and Judge's Associate Andrew Yule rebukes the audience should they snigger out of turn.
The lack of any fourth-wall is the X-factor that makes this production so phenomenally successful. As the authenticity of the legal jargon reels the punters in, suddenly they are ripped back into reality by being addressed directly and seeing the supporting players in their yellow shirts emblazoned with "(ACTOR)" across their backs. It's a Growtowskian dream, wherein pockets of discomfort and slow trudges through the trial remind the audience that this is definitely a play.
Only three professional actors appear, and their training in the craft shines to an outstanding degree. The amount that the players have to improvise (there is no script to the show, and each lawyer makes their own case in private - as they would for a real court proceeding) is utterly astounding. Jessica Clarke's Ophelia is particularly impressive, as she shakes in fear and anger and repeatedly asks her "jurors" why they are laughing at her. Genevieve Picot adds a great touch to the character of Gertrude as she fingers a cross necklace while on the stand, and the subtle addition that Chris Ryan makes to the titular Hamlet is superb: as the players exit the stage after an audience-lead verdict, Ryan, almost out of sight, cups Burnside's shoulder in solemn thanks. It's a tiny, almost unnecessary detail, but it just proves how fantastically well these two professions can play with each other.
Every single performance of Please, Continue will play out in an entirely unique fashion. New legal teams will take the case every night, and the verdict is up in the air until the dying moments of the show. With all audience members a potential candidate for the final jury, everyone is given a pad to take notes and to draw their own conclusions.
