Other Desert Cities – Circa Theatre – Wellington

Oh, Christmas time. Just as it means Santa and presents for children, as adults it means overindulging and inevitable family tensions. This is where Other Desert Cities begins; in the Californian home of the Wyeths. An influential ex-Hollywood family, Lyman and Polly exchange jibes with their grown-up children about their differences in politics and lifestyle. Country clubs and fundraisers vs. war criticism and the New York Times.

What starts as relatively playful becomes more serious when daughter Brooke reveals she has written a bare-all memoir about a family tragedy. With the support of her recovering-alcoholic Aunt Silda, Brooke battles for her right to free speech, as her parents consider their consent their private pain to be thrust back into the public sphere.

The family represent one of the largest generational chasms in Amercian history, devout Republicans and their liberal offspring. Their divergent outlooks make for amusing banter, but in a self-medicated reality, even the seemingly sunny son Trip admits he is in despair.

Every element of Jon Robin Baitz’ writing feels deliberate and it’s delectable to watch the family unravel and the layers of the play reveal themselves. It’s packed with allegory, but at heart is a living-room family drama, played out at Circa in grand oak-panelling. Each character has a specific point of view and you’re likely to find your allegiances shifting throughout the play.

Director Ross Jolly has assembled a strong cast, Catherine Downes particularly stood out as the steely matriarch, striving to hold her family together.

Nominated for five Tony Awards including Best Play, it was also a finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize. Other Desert Cities is a cleverly uses an intense family fraction to assess the damaged American psyche. It makes for a satisfying night of theatre that’s sure to get you talking.

If you can’t get to Wellington before 17 May, Auckland Theatre Company are also staging a production later next month.

Book tickets from Circa Theatre or call 04 801 7992.

Photo by Stephen A’Court

Reviewed by Lucy Pickering

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