From Darkness

From Darkness is an intense and powerful theatre performance.

It is the story of a family dealing with the tragic loss of a family member through suicide.

The five family members (mother, father, brother, sister, grandmother) each have different perspectives and coping strategies to help them through the tragedy.

Guilt, anger, sadness, blame, denial, and isolation are very obvious themes.

Family interactions are strongly portrayed moving from disconnection to eventual reconnection and acceptance.

The performance is intense and is interspersed with a small amount of humour particularly in the early stages.

The stage design is very effective and depicts various areas of a family home.

The stage props include a lot of detail which creates a realistic and ‘lived in’ ambience.

The five indigenous performers have a strong stage presence with each playing a very significant role.

Their performance is excellent resulting in the expression of the very real roller coaster of emotions that are experienced when a family loses a loved one in tragic circumstances.

The transition from disconnection to reconnection and acceptance within the family is undertaken with subtlety giving the impression of occurring over a period of time.

The performance may not be for everyone simply because of the topic.

However, it is certainly a quality production and the performers are excellent.