Tides are strong, powerful, all-encompassing - and scary for it. But they also hypnotic and strangely comforting. They're not safe but they always return. And so is the dynamic of Suzy and Lan's relationship in Spring Tide; beautifully written by Carol Vine and directed by Graham Hubbard.
My intro may border on adolescent essay territory, but the play itself takes what at first seems like an obvious flash back/forward love story in unexpected directions, adding layers of depth and subtlety. The result is a moving and engaging piece of storytelling.
Thanks to both the script and the acting, these are characters that you really believe, and care about. Yes, the play addresses 'themes' - of love, fear, regret and inevitability. But these themes aren't signposted or present at the expense of realism. The characters own their histories and psychologies - they aren't two dimensional representations of broader ideas. They are complex and contradictory and there are no neat resolutions to the situations they face. Nellie McQuinn gives an astute performance as the young Lan; as does Anita Parry as the older Lan. Both possess an undefinable quality that makes them totally apt as an innately lesbian character. Lorena Vila and Melanie Ramsay also do a stellar job of following through the characterisation of Suzy and exploring her journey from self-knowledge to action. And Pierro Niel Mee is perfectly pitched as Suzy's 'troubled' yet insightful son, Lewis.
There are a few monologues interspersed, which seem to jar slightly with the style of the rest of the play, but they don't undermine the overall impact. There is a knowingness to the dialogue that adds humour or insight just when the boundaries of realism start to tip into theatrics. This is a clever, affecting play - precisely because it isn't trying to be too clever. It's just mirroring the ebb and flow of the relationships that people have with others and with themselves. Ostensibly a lesbian play, but one where the characters and relationships are about so much more than just their sexuality.
