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A hush fell over the audience at Wehl St Theatre as the lights dimmed and the faint sound of an ECG started piercing the silence.

A faint red glow lit the swirls of the raised set stage right, and a lone figure called out into the darkness. His hospital gown and bandaged forehead indicated what was to come and as stage right dimmed, the audience was blinded by the bright lights stage left of a hospital room with the silhouette of a patient backlit onto a curtain screen.

‘Empty Chair’ was initially a 25-minute short play written by English playwright Darian Darr but was expanded to increase the stage time and meet the character number requirements of the Stage 2 performers.

Stepping back into the ‘80s, the characters spent time with the comatose
‘Calvin’, revealing their personal secrets as he lay unresponsive in his hospital
bed, but trapped in his mind and completely aware of what was being divulged
to him.

A twisting tale of betrayal, love, bitterness and dedication unfolded
over the 60-minute play as the lighting cleverly divided the set into fantasy and
reality. The ‘Empty Chair’ stood as a portal between both worlds – eerily lit in a
constant blue glow. A short interval indicated the passing of time as we were
treated to the fashions of the ‘90s; a decade of change which Calvin had
missed whilst caught in his own fictional world with highly stylised memories
of those closest to him.

The audience was aware that time was running out for our protagonist – and many were shocked at the change of heart rate in the background as he struggled to make the decision to forgive his loved ones and himself.

In front of their peers, actors Chelsea M, Kelly McIntosh, Ashwini Thorogood, Portia Holdman, Jarred Leis (Mt Gambier High School) and Charis Horsburgh (Mt Gambier High School) convincingly followed the progression of time to portray their individual characters which made this play another Stage 2 Drama success story. I would like to thank students Abby Tomlinson for hair and makeup, Charlie Connolly for lighting design and Reagan Sims for set design.

Many thanks to all who supported these students in their public external assessment both on and off stage.

Kirsty-Jane Wodson | Performing Arts Teacher