Writer & Director: Jam Smith
Staring: Harry Marshall, Rachael Bloemendal, Conor Maxwell
Producer: Infinite Monkey Theatre
14-16 November 2024 at The Meteor
Jam Smith originally wrote Soliloquy for their Masters during 2019-2020. In 2021 some rewrites were completed and it is now set to hit the stage as part of the Meteor’s upcoming two-week HIKO! Festival.
Note: I was fortunate enough to attend a rehearsal so cannot make any comments on set, costumes, lighting, or sound.
Hamish (Harry Marshall) finds himself unable to spread his late father’s ashes from a cliff and flees from the scene. When Hamish returns, Olivia (Rachael Bloemendal) is holding the urn. The two discuss loss, love, mental health issues and surprisingly, Hamish Snr (Conor Maxwell) communicates with both.
Soliloquy is Smith’s re-interpretation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Smith has managed to extrapolate some of themes from the classic text and then dropped them into contemporary times with a modern twist. Whether or not you are familiar with the original work, you will understand humanity’s ongoing grappling with grief, reality, death and what happens afterwards. Some complex ideas such as quantum suicide are presented in a convivial manner. There are a multitude of humorous one-liners that help ease the subject at hand.
Marshall delivered Hamish in an utterly believable manner, struggling with the aftermath of the fairly recent passing. Bloemendal’s portrayal of Olivia was astute and an excellent counter to Marshall’s uncertainty about the situation. Maxwell’s role was minor but impactful and he played it with self-assurance and the appropriate earnestness.
Jam Smith has been around the theatre their entire life and has an innate understanding of the mechanics of storytelling as a playwright. Smith has included a nifty twist that may mean you will want to see Soliloquy twice, in which case you need to attend the opening night performance.
There are a range of ticketing options for the HIKO! Festival. You can buy a pass to all four events, or a ticket to just Week One (2 events) or Week Two (again, 2 events). Alternatively, you may purchase tickets to individual events. Options abound for you to support our local creatives.
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