Reviews – August Osage County
15 September 2024Feeling like it summarises all the great American plays into one outsized epic,… this is a play that contains multitudes. This is an epic and powerful production.
Karen Vickery as the matriarch is the mother from hell, and seizes the opportunity to ride a role that allows her to play everything from pathetic incoherence in the worst of her sedated-delusion to concentrated focussed venom as she reaches out to destroy family members one by one.
There is the “uninterrupted roller coaster of act two, which takes this hothouse of a family and turns the boiler up until it explodes, with the third act remaining to pick up the pieces left behind.”
Cate Clelland gives the intimate Hub space an epic power, playing it longways and finding as many inches as possible of stage space to let the family sprawl all over the house.
The play is one of lifelong, almost epic conflicts: between honour and self-fulfillment, between honesty and peace, and ultimately between self-interest and family… the number of dramas playing out simultaneously in some scenes could take your breath away.
This tale depends heavily for its power on the ability of many of its cast to weave that spell of believability that allows them to convey depth or complexity of character, and it requires direction that draws out relevant undercurrents relating to its clever plotting. In this, the production excels: all the characters on stage, from the unassuming housemaid Johnna (played by Andrea Garcia) to the mesmerising out-of-control Violet, played by the astonishingly talented Karen Vickery, live and breathe their roles.
If you think your family had problems, wait until you see this bunch go into battle with each other! Moments of high drama mixed with flashes of unexpected humour are all played superbly.
Vickery gives this role an impressive strength but also shows the sensitivity and deep neediness in this woman. Hers is an extraordinary performance.
This was a production with a rich seam of interest that ran from beginning to end.
It is not surprising this play was made into the 2013 film of the same name, which garnered Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts Academy Award nominations. However, it also won Ensemble of the Year, at the Hollywood Film Festival.
This is the kind of play that inspires that kind of production. Here, under the direction of Cate Clelland, the cast achieved that end. Strong acting from each actor ensured the at times uncomfortable story was played out supremely well.