Jules and Tom are on an old fishing boat. They’ve borrowed it. It’s only pretty small.
Jules and Tom have been together a long time. They’re close. They know a lot about each other.
Something is about to end.
Very little will happen. Everything will change.
Will the world Jules and Tom knew be recognisable when they return?
The latest quiet masterpiece from Sarah Hamilton (‘They Saw a Thylacine’) ponders the meaning of change. A love story on the verge of a nervous breakdown, or a parable of impending doom.
The Split is a play about love and loss. ‘The Split’ is a play about people and nature.
What inspired you to create The Split and how have you seen it develop from paper to the hands of the Director, first during its Adelaide season and now again being performed in Sydney? Is there much change in how you imagined the play to appear on stage compared to when it is in the hands of someone else?
The springboard for this play was a memory of meeting a couple in a crowded bar in Hobart, about a decade ago. We got chatting as we lined up for beer. They seemed really into each other and happy. I asked them what brought them to Tasmania and they told me they were having a holiday to celebrate the end of their relationship. I wanted to create an intimate exchange between two humans on the cusp on change set against the backdrop of a changing planet.
Charley Sanders (director) reached out to me after reading my play through a competition I entered it in. When we got in touch we realised that we had met 7 years earlier at the Edinburgh Fringe when we both took plays over. Charley has handled this play with such delicacy and respect, enabling the inherit tensions and joy in the text to bubble through.
Working with Charley and actors Amy and Max enabled me to re-imagine the world of my play and I responded through the text to the energy they brought to early reads. I’ve been quite involved in the rehearsal process, and am really stoked with the world the team has created. It’s quite bizarre and brilliant seeing something that lurks around in your head realised on stage – and they’ve done so beautifully. It’s been brilliant to have some time between the Adelaide and Sydney seasons to let the whole thing percolate. I’ve taken the opportunity to make some more tweaks to the text; a gift for a new work.
The Split discusses the theme of change, both internal and external, in its story. In what way do you believe audiences might relate to this and why did you feel it was important to write about?
Change is something we all face; it’s universal. It’s inevitable. It’s also terrifying and we can feel powerless. As playwrights we reflect the world around us; we can assist people in navigating how they experience life. There is quite a meditative quality to this production and I think it allows audience space to contemplate their relationships to self, to others and to the environment. Any time we can carve out in our busy lives for this is useful and hopefully even energising.
Across your work, is there one story, thought or theme that keeps you interested in writing and creating? What kind of content do you find yourself drawn to the most?
I am drawn to writing about the relationship between humans and animals. I am drawn to putting people in wild environments. I am drawn to exploring human impact on nature. I’m also drawn to family stories; to how we are shaped by the stories we inherit and how we choose to reshape them. Sometimes I feel like I’m writing the same play over and over. I guess this is how it works. We nut something out over and over and make sense of it in different ways at different stages of life.
How has your experience as an actor influenced your playwright process (and vice versa)? How have these dual credits changed the way you approach both acting and playwright roles?
I started writing so that I could create opportunities for myself as an actor. I wanted to write a character for myself that would be a challenge to perform and that played against what I was normally cast as. As an actor I’ve spent years investing in the imaginary lives of fictional characters and the worlds they inhabit; fertile training ground for a playwright.
I’ve loved the experience of working with actors on this play - of being a playwright only. This has allowed me to hone and develop the text throughout the rehearsal process; responding to what the team has brought to this production.
As an actor, I’ve learnt a lot from being a playwright. I have a whole new appreciation for the amount of blood sweat and tears that go into constructing a play and I think I approach acting with a more nuanced dramaturgical eye now.
RAPID FIRE QUESTIONS:
Favourite production you have ever seen?
Savages by Patricia Cornelius, directed by Susie Dee – just realised this was set on a boat!
You’re getting on a plane tomorrow and you can go anywhere in the world, where do you go?
New York – I’ve never been
Plays or musicals?
Plays
A hobby you have beyond the theatre?
Bushwalking
What’s next for you after this show?
I’m writing a play about the first people to live on Mars.
The Split is currently showing at the Old 505 Theatre in Newtown until December 14, 2019. You can get your tickets here.