The 2022 film version of The Whale, directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Brendan Fraser, earned two Oscars and a BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Samuel D. Hunter‘s play, written in 2012, centres on a morbidly obese online English tutor trying to reconcile with his perpetually angry daughter. The University of Adelaide Theatre Guild, under the direction of Geoff Brittan, has brought this story to life with a healthy mixture of warmth, compassion and humour.
The central character, Charlie, is confined to his apartment due to his excessive weight and teaches online English classes. Actor Sam Wiseman brings a realistic yet sympathetic portrayal of the character. He wears foam latex prosthetics that take some 45 minutes to apply for each performance. A special shout out must go to Bree Roberts, makeup artist from Media Makeup and costume designers Gillian Cordell and Sandy Faithfull who have created a realistic depiction of the character, without falling into caricature.
The stage is set in Charlie’s apartment, with mounds of rubbish, an overstuffed lounge and a laptop to teach classes. Charlie never turns on his camera out of embarrassment, but is honest and positive in his encouragement of his students. One day, an unexpected person knocks on the door as Charlie is masturbating to gay porn. Elder Thomas (a perfectly innocent Liam James) is a Mormon missionary who is matter-of-fact about trying to save people through God. When Charlie starts having trouble breathing, he makes Elder Thomas start reading a childish essay about Moby Dick, which calms him down.
He then calls his friend Liz (Annie Matsouliadis), a nurse who comes to take his blood pressure and tries to convince him to go to hospital. Charlie refuses to go, claiming that he can’t afford medical treatment. Ironically, Liz also brings his daily serve of junk food, fuelling his obesity. Liz is a perfect example of the many idiosyncrasies highlighted by the play: the desire to do good, yet doing the opposite.
Charlie’s daughter, Ellie, comes back into Charlie’s life after a period of isolation following the divorce of his wife, Mary. Ellie (played convincingly by Tianna Cooper) is full of anger, not just with Charlie, but with the world. She knows that the divorce was caused by an affair that Charlie had with a younger student, Alan, who has since passed away. Charlie knows that he is dying and wants desperately to rekindle a relationship with his daughter. He offers her his life savings to spend time with him. In return, Ellie makes him write her school homework essays for her.
Eventually, Charlie’s ex-wife, Mary (Jessica Merrick), finds out that Ellie has been seeing Charlie and confronts them, shocked at Charlie’s obese appearance. In the journey that unfolds, relationships are exposed, and secrets and beliefs are tested and challenged. The central motif of Moby Dick is held up as a mirror – Charlie becomes the Whale, and his long-lost love Alan is perhaps Ishmael, narrating the maniacal quest of Captain Ahab, seeking vengeance against Moby Dick, the giant white sperm whale that bit off his leg on the ship’s previous voyage. Religious fervour, vengeance, isolation, and relationships are all dissected and laid bare in an almost clinical, scientific manner.
The story that unfolds around a single person confined to a dirty, isolated room is a microcosm of a world of longing, hope and regret. Director Geoff Brittain has perfectly encapsulated this world in this adaptation of the play, and the actors play convincing roles. They all bring a depth of understanding to the nuances of complexity that the story demands. It’s a carefully layered story that reflects the complexity and subtleties of our intertwined lives. The cast and crew have honoured this with a deep yet entertaining and humorous performance.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
The Whale plays at The Little Theatre, University of Adelaide, until Nov 16th
Tickets via Trybooking
The reviewer attended the performance on 8th November
All images courtesy of Richard Parkhill
