Theatre Company: Belvoir
Writers: Matthew Whittet
Director: Anthea Williams
Cast: Alison Bell, Madeline Benson, Peter Carroll, Leon Ford, Gillian Jones, Mitzi Ruhmann, Tom Usher and Zac Ynfante
Location: Belvoir Theatre (Surry Hills, Sydney, Australia)

Synopsis (from the flyer):

Daniel wakes up. Something is missing. The phone isn’t working and the kids’ toys are not in their usual spot. In fact, his wife and children seem to have completely disappeared. Have they deserted him, or has he abandoned them?
What follows is a tender story that explores the profound experience of loss … or the possibility of it. Belvoir’s Downstairs Theatre transforms into the streets of Sydney’s Inner West when Leon Ford leads a stellar cast including Alison Bell, Peter Carroll and Gillian Jones.
Old Man is a gentle, discomforting, richly structured play that allows us to witness the complexity within the seemingly day to day. Matthew Whittet is an award-winning writer and actor. Anthea Williams is an exciting young director who has been forging a career at the Bush Theatre in London. Together they bring us this unique and compelling work.

My Thoughts:

Although I am disquieted by the fact that I’m still not really sure I understand what happened, I really enjoyed this play.
In the first part, Leon Ford did a brilliant job of portraying the sense of utter bewilderment and desperation that his character felt when he awoke to find his wife and children gone. In the second part, he shows the solid family life that he has already lost or may be about to lose. It was full of wonderful observations of what makes the relationships we have with the people we share a home with so special. As advertised, I found it both “gentle” and “discomforting”.