Flinders University drama lecturer Dr Alex Vickery-Howe wrote his new play Watchlist about a world turned upside down by climate change and a global health crisis – and now he’s preparing for his work to be brought to life on stage at the Bakehouse Theatre.
The South Australian Playwrights Theatre is presenting the world premiere of Watchlist – featuring Flinders alumni Katherine Sortini and Gianluca Noble in the key roles – on June 2, with performances running until June 12.
The perceptive story of Watchlist, which was written more than six months before the national bushfire crisis and COVID-19 took effect in Australia, speaks to an emerging generation of environmental activists while exploring surveillance culture, the illusion of free speech and the erosion of privacy laws.
In the story, a directionless Basil is smitten by the strident Delia, but Delia is more than she appears to be. As Basil begins to see the world through her eyes, he realises that when it comes to environmental activism, there are those who talk the talk and those who walk the walk. Hunted by mysterious government agents and judged by family and friends, Basil and Delia balance new love against hard decisions.
Over a year in the making (the work was scheduled to be performed in 2020), Watchlist is part-romantic comedy, part-mystery thriller and part-Kafkaesque journey into the shadowy and surreal. Copies of Dr Vickery-Howe’s playscript have flown off the physical and digital shelves, already selling out from Currency Press.
“People who don’t know me well think I must be Basil because he’s the boy, and because his mum is just a little like mine, but Delia is my avatar in this play,” explains Dr Vickery-Howe. “I feel a profound sense of loss and sadness as I watch what we’re doing to the planet and to other living creatures, and that can slip into cold rage. In the real world, you have to adapt to injustices, or you can’t function with the other humans. You can’t laugh, or love. On the stage, you can play that rage out and see where it leads. That’s not to say that I think Delia is right, but I don’t think she’s wrong.”
Director Lisa Harper Campbell (also a graduate of Flinders University’s Drama course) says: “I’m interested in the push and pull each of the characters (and hopefully the audience) will feel as they balance the big and small picture issues. It’s a politically active work brimming with humour and heart – a perfect night out at the theatre, I’d say.”
A preview performance is being held at Bakehouse Theatre (255 Angas St, Adelaide) on Wednesday 2 June, with the season opening on Thursday 3 June, with further performances on 4-5 June and 8-12 June. All shows start at 7.30pm. Tickets, priced from $15 to $28, are available through the Bakehouse Theatre website.