The final production from Black Swan State Theatre Company for 2025 is the hilarious but insightful Carol from local playwright Andrea Gibbs.
Following on from her success with Barracking for the Umpire, which has been staged on two occasions by the company, Gibbs has once again created a story which is incredibly funny while at the same time head on tackles some serious issues.
It’s about the joy of Christmas, family gatherings, traditions and connections, while at the same time delivering emotional scenes about deception in relationships, making fresh starts, homelessness and empowerment of women.
The show opens with Santa unexpectedly dropping in, and he’s delivering a musical number. Mark Storen is an ocker, bogan, rough around the edges take on Santa.
The first section of the show is a stand up comedy set from Santa, it’s simply captivating and Storen had everyone’s complete attention. Santa really does know who has been naught and who has been nice. He can separate the good from the bad, even in this modern world.
He serves as an opening act for the bigger story, and remains as our guide as we dive into the world of the titular Carol.
Sally-Anne Upton, known to many as Lucy Gambaro on TV’s Wentworth, plays the grandmother who hosts her multi-generational family at her house every Christmas. The traditions of long established, what they eat, who undertakes which roles, who does the cooking and who goes and gets the ice.
Filling out the cast is Bruce Denny, Isaac Diamond, and Ruby Henaway who play a variety of characters, while Diamond joins Musical Director Jackson Harper Griggs on stage to provide a live musical soundtrack. The stage hands who leap into to move the set around to create a wide variety of locations are also part of the cast. Some of them even get names – you’re a star Marzipan! (you have to see the show).
This year for Carol is different, there’s been big changes in her life, she’s faced a mountain of challenges that she did not see coming, and they’re so humungous, they’re even going to change Christmas.
Andrea Gibbs has spoken about her desire to create a story about a woman later in life, noting that women over the age of fifty-five are the fastest growing group of people in Australia without secure housing.
She created this story after speaking to many women who had experienced housing challenges in their fifties and sixties, before putting pen to paper to create this story. Cleverly she’s found a way to present us with a very serious and hard-hitting topic, while also bringing in a mountain of joy.
Upton’s engaging performance is central to the plays success, as Carol she’s bold and brassy, but you also have an overwhelming urge to just go and give her a hug. By half way through the play, we’d completely fallen in love with Carol.
Director Adam Mitchell has described this as a small story that speaks to something much bigger. It tackles a serious topic, but it does with a mountain of love, festive cheer and hope for the future. A great way for Black Swan to sign off 2025.
Sally-Anne Upton takes hoe the award for Grandma of the Year, Mark Storen wins Best Santa Ever.
Carol is playing at the State Theatre Centre until 14th December. Tickets are on sale now.
Photographs: Daniel J Grant.
