August: Osage County is a 2007 play by American playwright Tracey Letts – though readers may be more familiar with the 2013 film starring Meryl Streep & Julia Roberts. The play deals with the disappearance of the Westin family matriarch ‘Beverley Westin’. After the eventual revelation of Beverley’s death, the dysfunctional Westin family must deal with the realities of their toxic dynamic. Three sisters who have grown apart and each face vastly different marital issues in their own lives, their drug-addicted mother ‘Violet Westin,’ who is grieving the loss of her life partner, and Violet’s sister ‘Mattie Fae’ who hides a secret but openly shares opinions on each of her relatives with little compassion for the fall-out of her words.
The Perth season is a co-production between Black Swan State Theatre Company and Belvoir St. Theatre (who debuted the work last November); it currently plays in the Heath Ledger as part of the Perth Festival. WA audiences are treated to a small re-cast of some local talent including Hayley McElhinny who joins the cast as ‘Barbara’, Geoff Kelso as ‘Beverley’, Ben Mortley as ‘Sherriff Deon’ and Caroline Brazier in the role of ‘Mattie Fae’.
Over the course of three hours, this production treats its audiences to what I think must be some of the finest actors our country has to offer. The precision of this ensemble should be celebrated, if not studied. The tragicomedy of August is balanced with such nuance and delicacy you cannot resist but lean in and find yourself captivated. Some punters may be wary of the long running time, but Letts’ steady hand delivers a powerful three-act play that is as comfortable and familiar as climbing into a warm bed and as exciting as new linen and one of those solar-inspired mood lights from TikTok. You’ll want to spend intervals in the auditorium, eager for the next act to begin.
All that is to say nothing of Pamela Rabe as ‘Violet Westin’ – one of the most formidable matriarch roles of our time. Rabe’s performance is unparalleled. She deftly captures the nastiness of Violet, and the pathos of a struggling drug addict and widow. Her energy on stage is palpable; wear comfortable shoes because you’ll be on your feet for the curtain call. Returning our gaze locally, McElhinney & Brazier are totally in their element in this play. Brazier remains completely electric in every scene, while McElhinney takes an enormous role and makes it even larger. Every minutia of what is revealed to be an incredibly complicated character arc is excavated for meaning and brought to life with detail, heart, and humour. Another gem in this cast is Amy Mathews who has completely disappeared in the role of the youngest Westin sister ‘Ivy’.
August boasts an immense ensemble cast which is matched with an almost equally sized production team. This mammoth production is made possible by the design, stage management, and directions teams each comprised of four. Work of this scale and quality can only happen with the unseen labour of technicians, operators, designers, coaches, and directors whose fierce collaboration pays off when the actor hits their mark.
Under the direction of Eamonn Flack, the mission is clear. Tell the story, tell it well, and tell it truthfully. That includes a genius inclusion that I think allows the political potency of the play bristle, even eight years on from publication. Bee Cruse joins the cast in the small but important role of ‘Johna Monevata’, a Cheyenne woman hired by ‘Beverley’ to take care of the house and family in his absence. Cruse is an Aboriginal, American Indian, and Chinese artist who also performed this role in Sydney. She begins the work with an acknowledgement of country and of the significance of ‘Johna’ in the play. Then, she slowly transitions into the prologue opposite Geoff Kelso. For the first act ‘Beverley’ lingers on stage after his disappearance as a semi-permanent manifestation of patriarchal rule, but from about the halfway point of this act the rest of the play is haunted by a lingering and ever-present figure in ‘Johna’. By bringing Johna out of the wings and all the way downstage for the entire play we are reminded that the Westin home is on sacred land. The Cheyenne people were here before The Westins and they will be here long after- in much the same way as the Noognar people of Boorloo and the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. The front-loading of First Nations politics is part of what makes lines like ‘Why can’t you call people what they want to be called’ and ‘Well everyone hates Nazis’ really pop and keeps August sizzling against the politics of today.
August: Osage County begins Black Swan State Theatre Company’s mainstage season and closes out Perth Festival. It is exceptional work and sure to be a highlight of any theatre-goers calendar.
MITCH WHELAN
August: Osage County is presented by Perth Festival, Black Swan State Theatre Company and Belvoir St Theatre at the State Theatre Centre of WA from 27 Feb – 16 Mar 2025. For tickets and more information, click here.
