The Treasury Courtyard on a balmy Adelaide evening. Hidden away from the bustle of the city with a honeysuckle-like scent wafting over us from a nearby tree and the lovely voice of Brenda Lee serenading us with “The End of the World”. In a world within a world, the stage was set for an hour of magical storytelling from Casey Jay Andrews.
This is a reimagining of the biblical story of the four horsemen of the apocalypse : famine, war, conquest and death.
Set in her hometown of Bracknell ‘A Place That Belongs To Monsters” features four strong willed females dealing with their anger and frustration at different stages of life : child, adolescent, middle aged and elderly.
The story is also filled with horses : wild and tame, on carousels and moneyboxes, painted on the sides of coaches. All riding into the apocalypse.
With her usual charm and warmth Casey takes her audience with her down convoluted paths of individual grief, loss and hope. We travel alongside her characters as they strive to find ways to change their stories, to make things come good again. Along the way we learn about lightning, super cell storms, not to rely on the protection of church bells, and even exploding churches.
As unflappable as ever, when part of the tale was impinged upon by the loud, strident and persistent wailing of sirens Casey simply smiled and told us to hold on to that sound, to save it for later when it would be a necessary part of the tale. Thus using the tension to help the tension build.
Warning us that lightning can strike the same place twice and that the electricity discharged traces a memory that resembles the roots of a tree spreading in all directions, she took the strands of the four individual stories and wove them slowly together, building to a dramatic finale where all her protagonists converge in space and time.
Beautiful writing and delivery was enhanced by the expert and subtle compositions, sound and gentle lighting. Entranced and enclosed within the membrane of the story we barely noticed the evening falling around us.
Treasury 1860 – Courtyard Until March 12th
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