Luke Carroll as Boyd. Photo: Brett Boardman
Even before a word was spoken, the set and soundscape of At What Cost? promised something special. Birdsong and animal life swirl around; under a black, star-studded sky, on ground that can only be Aboriginal land, lie tree stumps and branches bleached bone-white. The whole is partly enclosed by what could be age-old rock face. It’s a remarkable effect, and all credit to set designer Jacob Nash, lighting designer Chloe Ogilvie and sound designer David Bergman for this wonderfully evocative introduction to Tasmania’s Putalina/Oyster Bay.
To one side of the set is a pocket of domesticity. Boyd (Luke Carroll) and his heavily pregnant wife Nala (Sandy Greenwood) are sitting around their kitchen table, swapping news and looking forward to the birth of their firstborn. But Nala has news of great moment: Lanne is coming home. The stolen remains of William ‘King Billy’ Lanne, the last full-blooded Aboriginal man of Lutrawita/Tasmania, have finally been released from their colonial prison in the British Museum and are to be returned to country.
Boyd, a proud Palawa man who can never forget the genocide perpetrated on his ancestors and who is active in the fight to reclaim and keep ancestral lands, is honoured to be given the crucial role of firemaker in the sacred rites that will see Lanne’s spirit finally reconciled with his ancestors, the sky mob.
Boyd is an angry man. Fair enough. And he’s also happily married (Carroll and Greenwood’s ribald felicity add lightness and laughs in what will become an increasingly tense and fraught story, and the play is all the better for this). But Boyd is furious about the ever-growing number of people coming out of the woodwork to claim they are Palawa. He calls them ‘tick-a boxers’ and assumes – and we the audience assume, too – that they are trying to cash in on their supposed Aboriginality.
He is suspicious of Gracie (Alex Malone) from the start. She has pitched her tent just outside Boyd’s land to do research into colonial oppressors. Boyd is not the sort of man to give anyone the benefit of the doubt. Unlike his younger cuz Daniel (Ari Maza Long), just back from a long stint in Melbourne and a bit more laissez-faire about politics, who can see romantic possibilities with the young and nubile Gracie.
And so the real questions behind Palawa playwright Nathan Maynard’s searing and provocative play begin. If, once or twice, At What Cost? sounds a little expositional, it’s necessary and relevant to explain to those who don’t know (and sometimes don’t want to know) the terrible history behind Australia’s present. And we don’t just get Boyd’s hardline view, one formed by fear of the past and the possibility of it repeating itself. We get Daniel’s city-influenced take on things; and we get Nala’s more pragmatic and more inclusive opinions. And we can see all points of view, and we know it is not going to end well.
The mere introduction of Gracie is a red flag.
At What Cost? is one of those plays that will keep you thinking about it and asking questions. A history of genocide and colonisation are at its heart, but Boyd wants to move things forward, get justice for his mob. And that brings more questions. Who deserves to live in this reclaimed land? In a past that stole children from their parents, who can prove their bloodlines? What about those born after 1788 in this land now called Australia? Who gets to be the gatekeeper? Is reclaimed land safe for future generations of Palawa people? And what can be done to make all of this better, fairer and recognised?
In this play, it is Gracie who is the catalyst for tragedy. Malone’s Gracie is the most divisive character in At What Cost? and she plays her superbly. No one is going to love her. But Maynard’s clever play doesn’t make her inherently evil. Deluded, yes. Lonely, perhaps. Wanting what isn’t hers? Almost certainly. But what made her that way? And can that be changed?
All four actors in this play are fantastic. Greenwood is delightful as the sometimes bawdy, always frank and totally believable mother-to-be Nala. Maza Long is equally believable in his desire to please everyone. And Carroll is amazing as Boyd. The intensity and passion of his performance are unforgettable.
All this comes with tight direction from Isaac Drandic, who builds the tension in Maynard’s script beautifully, taking us ever deeper into an emotional and tragic climax. That end, when it comes, is brilliantly realised and likely to be seared into memory. Along with the silhouetted figure of Nala, crooning to her newborn.
Until 20 February 2022
Prices: Full price from $68, Seniors from $58, Concession from $48, 30-Down from $46, Student Saver from $33
Playwright Nathan Maynard, a Trawlwoolway, Pakana/Palawa man, was awarded the Balnaves Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Fellowship in 2019, supporting the writing and development of At What Cost? More at https://belvoir.com.au/productions/at-what-cost-3/
