Worked with Adam and Anne today. Adam is playing the dual role of Kane, the brother and Zach, the first boyfriend. The roles were designed to be played by the same actor, which makes it a kind of tour de force performance, being so distinct. We talked about how Adam wanted to approach that – he’s very keen not to stereotype Zach as a screaming queen, especially playing to a Midsumma audience. I’m keen on that as well, as I don’t feel Luke would be interested in that kind of guy as a boyfriend – especially not the guy that helps him “over the line”.
Kane interests me more and more as I get older. The idea of being crushed by what everyone else thinks of you, and how you got that way. We’ve talked a lot about whether he was a simple child, maybe with learning difficulties that didn’t get recognised in a small country town school. Not being quick isn’t the same as dumb, but once you’re known as that, it’s pretty hard to escape it. Especially when a very intelligent younger brother comes on the scene. I feel the pain in his relationship to his father, how much he wants to win his admiration and just be noticed by him as a person, not as someone subsidiary to everyone else’s desires. We figured out that what really separates Kane and Zach is not butch/camp – but confident/unconfident. Zach would walk into a room and take it over, Kane would sidle into the corner and observe.
Anne noticed that Celia can be played as if she’s the mum from The Castle, but it’s more interesting to find the woman who’s kind of worn out from looking after these three men for twenty years. That she’s become so used to being the grease that stops their gears from locking, that she doesn’t think much about what she wants, until Harry forcing Luke out demands she find a voice. I sang the harmonies of “Where Does it Get You” with Anne, as Ed is still in NYC until next week. They are tricky but beautiful. I forget how melancholy the latter half of Prodigal is.
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