Winterfall’s In A Forest, Dark and Deep is the Australian premiere of prolific American screenwriter and playwright, Neil LaBute’s latest theatrical endeavor. We find Betty, a college professor and dean of Humanities, scatty and fidgeting furiously, awaiting the arrival of her estranged brother, Bobby, to a remote cabin in the middle of the dark, stormy, scary, creepy, Halloweeny forest. Yes, you guessed it – something fishy is going on here. Betty has asked Bobby to help her move some stuff out, but why so late at night, and why with such short notice?
Bobby (Christopher Connelly) arrives in a whirlwind of brazen sexism and vulgarity, butting heads almost immediately with his well-to-do academic sister. The relationship is clearly strained and both actors work hard to create a sense of the longstanding tension developed through their sordid family history. Their emotional distress is laboriously revealed like so many weeks on a therapists couch (but with more shouting) and, as they say, the plot thickens.
It’s a relatable tension of a crumbling family unit epitomised by the siblings whose values will never align. From the beginning, Betty (Michele Wiliams) aggressively seesaws between states of panic and blasé dismissal about her brother’s persistent questioning and reminiscing, but her portrayal lacks a believable rhythm. Her superiority over Bobby, the blue-collar laborer, just doesn’t click, perhaps due to the distracting overuse of packing apparatus on stage and slightly hammy ‘damsel in distress’ physicality during Bobby’s aggressive outbursts.
However, Connelly’s strong and solid portrayal of the bizarre and sometimes cringe-worthy intensity of Bobby makes this piece worthwhile. Perhaps the slightly predictable plot favours a more genuine portrayal of Bobby, or perhaps Connelly’s secure, strong and balanced physical presence allows the audience to fall more deeply into his reality. Either way, as the onion is peeled and the layers of truth emerge, it is the staunch and pious Bobby confidently leads the audience to the end of the line of breadcrumbs.
