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Review: Polygraph, Theatre Works

An engrossing and visceral exploration of how truth and trauma can bind lives together and tear them apart.
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Grant Cartwright and Lachlan Woods in Polygraph. Photo by Pier Carthew.

There has been a disturbing recent trend, not unique to the theatre, where the stories that get ‘made’ are good. They are satisfying, well-produced, clever in their own way, but they slide out of the mind in the neat packaging in which they were presented, barely leaving a mark. There is a timidity, not terminal, but enough to rob a story of the raw emotional power that can unsettle its audience, put a little dent in ordinary reality. Polygraph is a welcome departure that takes risks, not all of which come off, but there is something gripping in the leap, something more exciting and moving then seeing a series of carefully choreographed jumps land flawlessly.

Grant Cartwright and Emily Thomas in Polygraph. Photo by Pier Carthew.

We’re used to trauma narratives that bind people together. People pull together in a crisis or form an indelible bond through it’s sharing but very rarely do we see the people connected to the same event remain unaware or choose to keep secret their connection. Polygraph centres on the gruesome rape and murder of a young woman, an event which spokes out to three very different people. There is Francois, the murdered woman’s close friend, the last person to see her alive and an early suspect. There is David, an immigrant from the former East Germany and criminologist investigating the case, and Lucie, an actress and friend of Francois’, who gets cast as the murdered woman in a sensationalised film about the incident.

Each has a different truth, but none of them are strictly wrong. Francois is still twisted by guilt and confusion over never fully being cleared. David’s clinical mind sees only methods and techniques to catching criminals and Lucie struggles with the conflict of both exploiting a story and being exploited by those remaking it. There is a fascinating tension that perpetually dwells in the gaps of each of their knowledge, a tension which they each maintain, at least in part, consciously. As the story develops in leaps and crawls and each of the characters learns more, the way in which they construct their truth of the murdered women becomes increasingly deliberate. With these hardening and individuated narratives, the possibility for reconciliation and shared truth ebbs.

Lachlan Woods in Polygraph. Photo by Pier Carthew.

Under Tanya Gerstle’s direction, the cast deliver an outstanding ensemble performance. Gerstle’s influence is a clearly discernible in the gorgeous choreography and at times recklessly physical performance. It takes a special group of performers to not just be willing to take this approach but desirous of it. Accompanied by a lush and tensile noir soundtrack Polygraph delivers a theatrical punch that has been sorely missed. It doesn’t ask to be liked but demands to be watched. Polygraph delivers moments you can feel and performers willing to hold nothing back. It’s not without its flaws, but frankly, who cares, those flaws come from pushing boundaries and refusing to play it safe. This is a poignant reminder of how parallel truths are very rarely benign.


Rating: 4 ½ stars ★★★★☆

POLYGRAPH

An OpticNerve production presented with the support of Theatre Works
Director: Tanya Gerstle
Actors: Grant Cartwright, Emily Thomas & Lachlan Woods
Writers: Robert Lepage & Marie Brassard
Producer: Loraine Little

17-29 July
Theatre Works, St Kilda

Raphael Solarsh
About the Author
Raphael Solarsh is writer from Melbourne whose work has appeared in The Guardian, on Writer’s Bloc and in a collection of short stories titled Outliers: Stories of Searching. When not seeing shows, he writes fiction and tweets at @RS_IndiLit.