POBBY AND DINGAN by Paula Wing, directed by Stewart Arnott (Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People, 165 Front East). Runs to May 10, Saturday-Sunday 2 pm. $15-$20. 416-862-2222. See listing. Rating: NNNN
We never get to see the title characters in Paula Wing’s Pobby And Dingan, adapted from Australian writer Ben Rice’s book, but they sure fuel the action of the play.
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Set in a small mining town in New South Wales, the play is a memory piece for Older Ashmol (Benjamin Clost), who recounts events involving his younger self (Aaron Stern), his sister Kellyanne (Laura Schutt) and their financially struggling parents Annie and Rex (Deborah Drakeford and Martin Julien).
Pobby and Dingan are Kellyanne’s imaginary, invisible friends, a fact that sends Younger Ashmol round the bend, especially when his parents, notably his opal-miner father, start to treat them as if they really exist. When they “disappear” one day in Rex’s mine, Kellyanne’s depression and resulting illness affect not just the family but also the entire town.
As a show for young audiences – the recommended age is nine to 16 – the piece offers a striking take on the power of the imagination, a popular theme in children’s literature. Here it’s not a matter of “wow, how much better off we are, how important it is, to have an active imagination,” but rather that the relying on the imagination can lead to upsetting as well as invigorating results.
Playwright Wing and director Stewart Arnott have done a fine job populating the town of Lightning Ridge, New South Wales, and in Clost they have an actor who can, through voice and physicality, create an entire community.
At first he’s just the narrator, stepping into and out of the action and sometimes freezing it to make a point. But soon it’s clear that the role is a showcase for the always-onstage Clost, switching back and forth between a dozen or so characters with zestful energy. I first saw Clost years ago at George Brown Theatre, and he’s always demonstrated his sharp ability to handle text and character with assurance.
Schutt and Stern also win the audience with their believable sibling relationship, she especially good at hinting that while Kellyanne speaks to her invisible friends, at some level she knows she’s playing a game, albeit an important one.
Drakeford (an emotionally resonant actor we don’t see enough onstage) and Julien also connect as the older couple. She’s a woman who could have had a happier life with a well-off husband and he’s a dreamer obsessed with Elvis Presley songs and the belief that he’ll find that elusive black opal and make the family rich. There’s a nice subtextual tie between father and daughter, each a dreamer.
The impressive design by Camellia Koo (set/costumes), Andrea Lundy (lighting) and Thomas Ryder Payne (sound) conjures the sun-drenched, rocky landscape and the dark depths of Rex’s mine, with some visual surprises along the way.
The show’s bittersweet ending, which includes a death, may upset some children, but it’s presented in such a gentle, understated way that you leave the theatre with a feeling of celebration rather than sadness.
