Trigger warnings taped to the theatre door announce that Cara Norrish’s new play, A Good Way Out, contains strong language and a scene that involves sexual coercion. Before the opening scene begins, it is already clear that this will not always be an easy performance to watch. The play focuses on Joey, a hardworking mechanic, family man and long-time member in a motorcycle gang.
Joey can’t afford to pay the rent, his girlfriend Carla is overwhelmed juggling motherhood and her job as a nurse and the couple has family services on their backs to boot. Meanwhile, gang leader Larry refuses to give Joey the independence he longs for and his religious sister Lynette is meddling in his affairs as well, judging and praying for him in equal measure. When Sean, a young member of the biker gang, shows up at the bike repair shop asking for help selling weed on the side, Joey is reluctant. He eventually lets the extra money — which will pay the bills and care for his family — convince him against his better judgement. What follows is the gradual disintegration of his relationships and the loss of control over his own life.
The characters are well developed and the actors’ performances display their complexity and vulnerability. Joey and Carla, played by Carl Kennedy and Evelyn Chew respectively, portray the difficulty of taking responsibility for your actions and prove that loving your children is very much not synonymous with good parenting. Andrew Wheeler’s raspy voice, threatening tattoos and bulky leather jacket capture the despicable motorcycle gang leader’s essence, and the performance is nuanced enough to stop Larry from turning into the caricature he could easily have become. Chad Ellis’ buoyant optimism and cheerful stupidity as Sean provide for comic relief and elicit genuine empathy from the audience. While Lynette and her conflicted moral compass initially feels a little forced, Corina Akeson is truly formidable by the play’s most powerful scene towards the end .
Where the play occasionally falls short is in the dialogue, which can seem artificial and constructed. Playwright Norrish addresses a host of interesting issues, the central question being what constitutes family and these issues are worth exploring. However, the way they function in the script is sometimes so explicit as to make the surrounding events feel both unrealistic and predictable. Joey’s explanation of why he wants no part in Sean’s drug deal proposition is one example. As a result, lines tilt towards clichés at times such as when Larry tells Lynette not to worry in the final scene. For the most part however, the raw and brutal challenge Joey faces trying to balance his dreams for a better future with his family in the here and now makes for an engaging and provocative piece of theatre.
The Pacific Theatre, where the play will be running until October 15, has a traverse stage where audience is seated on two sides of the action instead of predominantly in front of it. The actors use this space very effectively in their physical movement across the stage, manipulating perspective and character dynamics to add to the performance’s depth. The set and props, notably an elegant green motorcycle, similarly contribute to making the events unfolding on stage more tangible for the audience.
All in all, A Good Way Out is worth seeing for anybody who is interested in the tension between family responsibility and individual freedom, enjoys dramatic plays about motorcycle gangs, or both.