★★★☆

Good Works could potentially be quite tough to navigate. In fact, there are moments in this Darlinghurst Theatre Company production where you feel the plot might be slipping from comprehension, thanks to overlapping scenes and quick character transitions.

A strong hand is required to pull together the intricacies of Nick Enright’s script, and director Iain Sinclair delivers. He knows how to generate momentum and where to pull back the reins. Watching this complex portrayal of Australian life, which explores the limits of love and friendship, you can’t help feeling an admiration for Enright’s deftness as a playwright.

Stripped back to the raw walls of the Eternity Playhouse, the stage is awash with white confetti and white pillars capped with astroturf. Hugh O’Connor’s inventive set design allows the action to unfold across multiple levels, although as the cast bounds between teetering blocks, the visual effect is a bit distracting, almost threatening to drown out the subtleties of the small-town drama.

The cast is uniformly strong in unravelling this tightly woven story. Enright explores the impact of class and religion across generations through two sets of friends – orphans Rita (Taylor Ferguson) and Mary Margaret (Lucy Goleby), and Catholic schoolboys Tim (Stephen Multari) and Shane (Anthony Gooley).

Ferguson brings gusto to her interpretation of Rita, a blue-collar beauty who has retained her rough edges, while Goleby is assured as the successful convert to high-class society, plucked from a mysterious childhood. Though mild-mannered for the most part, her performance culminates in what is probably the most moving monologue of the play.

Multari, one of Sydney’s most promising emerging actors, is magnetic as Tim. Gooley is equally solid as Shane, flitting between hardness and vulnerability. They work well together, stretching their characters from the playful adventures of boyhood to the dark and dangerous games of estranged adulthood. James Oxenbould provides reliable support as a sleazy barman, Tim’s flamboyant friend, and the sadistic brother. And Toni Scanlan is unshakeable as the respectable Mrs. Donovan and Mother John.

Sitting through Good Works is a bit like sifting through layers of heartache – there is a pervasive feeling of loneliness. There are instances of misplaced and unrequited love as well as latent homoeroticism. That’s not to say it is without a sprinkling of humour. This intelligently written and powerful acted play is certainly worth a look.

Good Worksis playing at Eternity Playhouse until Sunday November 29.

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