Four playwrights were immersed in four of the most regional of Tasmanian communities, - Zeehan, Swansea, Miena and King Island - and four very different plays address the dilemmas of transient populations, of people who leave and never come back, of people who settle down to die.The strongest of the plays Sex, Death and Fly-fishing, is a powerful depiction of the relationship between a young visitor to a freezing highland community and a dying, elderly man who has found his rest in fishing. Carefully balanced between narration and dialogue, Adam Grossetti's short play is an affecting vision of a lake's apotheosis in quiet, willing eyes.
The other plays have their strengths: an easy command of vernacular in Swansea; the humour of an overly-enthusiastic swimmer (or is he a seal?) who sets a relationship back on track on King Island; but one doesn't feel they quite inhabit the towns as members of the local population. They may be passing through, spending some time, but they're not quite locals yet.
WriteResponse; An arts reviewing site with a collection of Tasmanian writers contributing and reflecting on creative endeavour.
