Adapted by Sue Smith, based on the novel by Charlotte Wood. Belvoir St Theatre. 5 Aug – 10 Sep, 2023.
The Weekend...
No, not that one…
No, no, not that one either…
Definitely not that one! Not after watching The Idol!
Anyway, The Weekend, the stage adaptation of Charlotte Wood’s novel now on at Belvoir St Theatre sees three friends in their “crone years” look back at where they’ve been and ahead to what life has left for them.
Adele (Belinda Giblin), Jude (Toni Scanlan) and Wendy (Melita Jurisic) gather to clean out the seaside home of their departed friend Sylvie. Jude is quick to remind the others that despite it being Christmas time, this is not a holiday. She is determined to get the job done. Wendy, an academic and cancer survivor is filled with memories. Adele is distracted, desperately trying to hold on to her acting career. With them is Wendy’s dog Finn, a gift from Sylvie, suffering from canine dementia. As they all struggle to work together familiar old habits and frustrations arise and bubble over.
Despite the maudlin tones, The Weekend is full of warmth and love – a tone perfectly captured in the refrain of Carol King’s 1971 hit “It’s Too Late” which features in the show.
The setting may be an Australian summer, but the emotions are autumnal. These three friends are as familiar to each other as old lovers and their affection feels deep and well earned. They may fall into broad theatrical tropes (the no-nonsense one, the flighty artist, the hippy academic) but the performances bring them to a reality that holds the play together. It is the external influences that draw them out of their routines.
Finn the dog, a puppet brought to life by Keila Terencio and created by Indigo-Rose Redding, is a slow moving force of nature. Frail but constantly moving around the set, getting in Jude’s way, seeking Wendy’s support, occasionally leaving “gifts” for the others to clean up. And then there’s the callow hot-shot director Joe (Roman Delo), a reminder of a time when death seemed far away.
There’s an easy pleasure to watching Giblin, Scanlan and Jurisic on stage, three performers who know exactly what they’re doing. Director Sarah Goodes knows when to hold back and let the scenes play out, and when to step in with directorial flourishes. The Weekend is never bold or brash, it sticks to the core of its story without the need for gaudy excesses. It simmers but never explodes.
The third act brings new revelations to the group which felt rather conservative and familiar to anyone who’s seen similar types of “old friends come together for a weekend retreat” films or plays. But it’s the way these characters handle the information that matters, and the final moments bring a welcome release.
The Weekend didn’t resonate with me as it clearly did with others and I don’t think that’s necessarily a function of age or gender. The play’s pace is deliberate and measured, like old Finn crossing the stage, and never really fully engaged my emotions. I cared for these women, but I never felt a need to find out what would happen next. It was a pleasant experience, but not an urgent one.
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