18 September, 2019
It’s been one year since Vinnie’s death and his family are gathering for a dinner to remember him.
Each of them has their own coping strategies but none of them seems to be working and they’re only serving to push the family further and further away from each other.
From Darkness is a show that takes a lot out of you emotionally.
The jokes and comedy are certainly present, but there is also a very heavy dose of dark and viscerally real themes revolving around suicide and loss.
It’s a taxing show to watch, but playwright Steven Oliver’s masterful ability to balance humour and darkness makes the show hard-hitting without feeling insincere or falsely saccharine.
There’s such an honesty and compassion to the show, and that underpins every single aspect of it.
If there’s one thing I can whole-heartedly applaud this production for it is its almost effortless ability to draw an audience into its world and its characters.
Empathy is the keyword with this show, and the masterful performances and intelligently crafted script allow the story and characters to shine.
Roxanne McDonald is perfectly cast as the sharp-tongued Nanna Lou, but the standout performance for me was Lisa Maza’s portrayal of the family matriarch Abigail.
Maza brings a heartbreaking honesty to every single word and movement she makes and it’s hard to not believe everything she does.
With an absolutely stellar cast performing at their peak and a script that crackles with heart and emotion, From Darkness is a show that needs to be seen.