Justine Campbell and Sarah Hamilton’s The Dust & Us explores what it is to trample all over nature in the modern, human way, presented through two distinct tales of human exploitation of nature: the purchase of a remote island in the Bass Strait and the subsequent house that is built on it, and the mining of rural Victoria and its hidden treasures in the late 19th century.
Campbell and Hamilton deliver affecting, poetic and humorous dialogue from their perches on a beautiful set comprised of wooden chairs atop wooden tables, contrasted by a warmly lit pool of varying pieces of glassware. Their characters are generally intriguing and well-realised: some more than others. Campbell’s ‘Sue’, a brash and sun-leathered mother stubbornly building on her island, is a highlight.
The warm, folky songs offered by Jud Campbell and Dane Adamo flesh out the themes and tend to be well-matched with the tales, but did, however, at times suffer from overindulgent lengths and an enduring sameness. This lack of variety did tend to spill over into the stories themselves. However, your attention to detail is rewarded by the nuanced performances of Campbell and Hamilton, who ultimately deliver a somewhat vague yet genuine show.
