In a small town pub singer songwriter Raye takes to the stage and sings her country blues tunes to a small audience, after the show she offers audience members her $10 CDs to take home. Dan, a miner who is estranged from his community, buys one and strikes up a conversation.
They hit it off, and what’s initially intended as a brief encounter leads to a longer journey together, as Dan joins Raye for the remainder of her tour as she heads north on the Stuart Highway working through small towns and outback pubs.
John Harvey’s debut play Heart is a Wasteland examines the complexities of Aboriginal people living in contemporary Australia. The story follows a turbulent love affair that unfurls over a four-day drive to Alice Springs.
The work was first performed at Melbourne’s Ilbijerri Theatre Company in 2021. Harvey has gone on to become one of Australia’s most exciting new voices, as well as a acclaimed director, producer and filmmaker.
As the story of Raye and Dan progresses we are shown of moments of romance, the rush of connecting with a new person who really gets you, and as trust and intimacy builds. each begin to reveal more about their lives, flaws, failures and emotional baggage.
Claire Fermo is enchanting as singer Raye, showing a bold personality, mountains of sass, and as the relationship builds wise council and raw emotion. While Yirra Yaakin’s Artistic Director Maitland Schnaars takes on the role of Dan with equal range bringing to the stage a complex and multi-faceted character.
Adding to Fermo’s impressive acting is the captivating songs peppered throughout the story. They create moments of reflection and introspection, but the audience is also treated to her luscious voice and magnetic stage presence.
Layered over this raw and emotional love story, is a slice of Australia’s history that casts a dark shadow. The story of what happened at Maralinga in South Australia where nuclear tests were carried out in the 1950s and 1960s was headline news in the 1980s – but maybe a story that has slipped from public consciousness.
Just a the effects of nuclear tests, radiation and political coverups flowed on for decades, the effects of events in Raye and Dan’s lives have also lingers and poisoned their futures.
Heart is a Wasteland is a powerful story, a sliding doors moment, and a reminder that people who are in our lives for short periods of time can be catalysts for clarity and change. It’s a story about forgiving yourself and letting go, and its about connection between people in a world where we increasingly charting solo voyages through life.
The production is playing at the Subiaco Theatre Centre until Saturday 1st November, with Auslan performances, audio described and tactile performances
