Take three objects and write a play.
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That was the challenge Goulburn Performing Arts Centre (GPAC) technical coordinator, Suze Smith, threw to playwright, David Cole, last year.
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He picked up a Russian doll, a stuffed cat and a Spider Man toy. Why, he didn't know.
"That's a whole play. Go write it over summer," Ms Smith told Mr Cole.
The result - The Russian Doll - played to a 253-strong audience at GPAC on Saturday, September 30 as part of the Festival of Regional Theatre. The production was Cole's sixth play and followed on from the successful, The Waltz, also staged at GPAC.
An appreciative audience applauded him as he emerged from the auditorium, post play.
Mr Cole said Ms Smith had mentored him with the script, written over 10 months, and then directed, produced, sourced six actors and staged the play.
"We met every month. That was the rigour of the work," Mr Cole said.
"With Suze, every line and word mattered. She's a great dramaturg and interrogator of scripts and an amazing director.
"...I wouldn't have had this opportunity without GPAC."
![Martin Sanders as Peter and Pauline Mullen as Jan in David Cole's play, 'The Russian Doll.' Picture by Peter Oliver. Martin Sanders as Peter and Pauline Mullen as Jan in David Cole's play, 'The Russian Doll.' Picture by Peter Oliver.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/FkT3ZusFw5YrTvZCipmLUF/7c512a09-c40d-4bf0-b610-fa00482dcf63.jpg/r0_0_3360_2240_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Just like a Russian dolls, the wooden dolls that come apart, the work delves into the many layers of human beings. The main character, Peter, (Ant Lewis) played with them as a child. When he faces the difficult task of placing his mother, Jan, (Pauline Mullen) into care, elements of their complex relationship are revealed. As Mr Cole explains, the doll is also a "portal into childhood."
The story steps between the present and past. Young Peter, played by Axel Wellings, shines a light on childhood experience. He wants to be 'normal,' ride his Malvern Star bike and play in the river but his relationship with his mother makes it impossible. Peter seeks solace in 'Spidey' or Spider Man (Ted Ayers) and counting, the latter a symptom of his obsessive compulsive disorder.
Likewise, Jan's early life with sister, Helen (Nicole Freeman) is explored.
The cat, Jan's favourite pet, makes an early entrance. It has more than nine lives and humorous questions linger on whether it is really dead.
A metaphorical 'burning man' (Martin Sanders) is thrown into the mix. Fire can either destroy or cleanse people's demons. Ultimately, the play is about coming to terms with human complexity and recognising that older people have rich, past lives too.
![Martin Sanders plays 'The Burning Man' who sets fire to everything and creeps into characters' psyches. Picture by Peter Oliver. Martin Sanders plays 'The Burning Man' who sets fire to everything and creeps into characters' psyches. Picture by Peter Oliver.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/FkT3ZusFw5YrTvZCipmLUF/542d6b1a-1811-4117-8de7-d08e365299a1.jpg/r0_75_3360_2188_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Mr Cole admits it goes to "dark places" but there of plenty of funny moments too.
"There's a bit of realness in there...but it is a work of fiction," he said.
"A lot of people related to it because they had to put their parents in care."
The production was ably assisted by set designer, Alecia Walker, costume, sound and lighting designers, Judy Tanner, Obie Burns and Suze Smith respectively, and Leonard Buckley and Shannon Trama with set production.
Ms Smith said The Russian Doll emerged from GPAC's community capacity building project. She acknowledged former manager, Raina Savage, for her vision in growing Goulburn's creative community.
"Raina has provided a platform with the Festival of Regional Theatre for artists from this region to tell local stories," she said.
"A big thank you to David and his willingness to dive deep into his imagination and to be as rigorous as I asked him to be to make this play the best version of itself in a relatively short timeframe."
![Sixteen-year-old Goulburn actor, Axel Wellings, plays 'Young Peter' in 'The Russian Doll.' Picture by Peter Oliver. Sixteen-year-old Goulburn actor, Axel Wellings, plays 'Young Peter' in 'The Russian Doll.' Picture by Peter Oliver.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/FkT3ZusFw5YrTvZCipmLUF/9988953e-5a83-4e66-91ee-c2ed4a2745da.jpg/r650_0_3360_2165_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Canberra's Mill Theatre recently held a reading of The Russian Doll.
Mr Cole said he intended to promote the work and hoped other venues would pick it up. Meantime, The Waltz, also starring Pauline Mullen and Martin Sanders, will be staged at the Bondi Pavilion Theatre on November 3 and 4. The play was performed as part of the GPAC's Festival of Regional Theatre in 2022.
"I've had a really lucky run this year and I don't know when it will end," Mr Cole said.
"It's my sixth play and it's the best year ever. GPAC has really nurtured me and Raina and Suze have believed in me. It wouldn't be happening except for them."
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