Wake In Fright

Before going in to see Wake In Fright you will be given a pair of earplugs – always a good omen. You should not see Wake In Fright if you’re feeling tired or run down. The show runs for 70 minutes – plenty of time to affect you mentally and physically. The lighting from Verity Hampson, the music and sound by friendships and designer James Paul and the sheer brilliance of Zahra Newman’s performance come together to create an otherworldly force. 

Wake In Fright tells the story of John Grant, a schoolteacher deep in student loans, passing through the town of Bundanyabba, on his way to holiday in Sydney. Alarmingly quickly, the heat and the grotesque and widespread drinking culture causes him to spiral into a lurid existence of drinking, losing consciousness, waking in increasingly sinister situations and then drinking some more.

In this adaptation of the classic Australian gothic novel by Kenneth Cook – rewritten for the stage and adapted by Declan Greene – Newman plays all the characters. Though to say “play” would be an understatement. She embodies each character, the town and the hot, claustrophobia of the setting. Her performance and Greene’s direction and writing get the tone just right: this show makes you feel physically ill, intoxicated in the worst possible way. It demonstrates the power of a good script, an awesome performance and how much lighting and sound can truly affect the audience.

The projections, also from Hampson, are in-your-face, a kaleidoscope of different images and words flashing in front of Newman, as she descends into madness. It is a tense 70 minutes but an experience like no other in a theatre with just one actor and no set or costuming. Newman’s ability to transform her voice, to flow between accents and voices, her facial expressions and physicality is spellbinding.

Read More: Has Australia Really Changed Since Wake In Fright Was First Published In 1961?

Wake In Fright is a story that feels all too easily evoked in the modern day. We are never truly told when this adaptation takes place – though there are hints – and it doesn’t matter, the work’s pernicious blokeyness persists in our culture. The taste of lukewarm beer and sound of sickening, raucous laughter is still utterly recognisable. Will Wake In Fright put you off having a beer with your mates? No. But it may change the way we think about how far we have supposedly come. It evokes the underlying shame that comes with not wanting to drink more, not wanting to party, of not knowing how to “be a good bloke” – it is our culture at its most exaggerated and worst.

Wake In Fright is not a traditionally ‘enjoyable’ experience, but it is a wonderful example of the power of live theatre and a great retelling of a classic Australian tale.