One of the hidden gems in the Adelaide theatre landscape is the Little Theatre at Adelaide Uni. I really love the space and it is a great venue for plays. This Saturday I saw Escaping the Burning Sun by Quasar Arts. Quasar Arts are a new theatre company in Adelaide that aim to bring new, original and experimental theatre to light and are already planning future dramatic podcasts and a show for the 2023 Fringe.
The play had an excellent premise that reminded me of science fiction stories I have read or seen in the past. In another world or perhaps our world in the far future, the government seeks to solve overpopulation by removing them from the planet by sending them to the sun. It was a more sinister version of one of the subplots of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. The excellent thing about this play is that there are two possible endings for the play that the audience choose towards the end. The ending we chose today lead to a heart breaking end and I wonder what the other option was.
The acting by this young bunch of actors was excellent. They were all very earnest and I look forward to seeing the company in the future. I would suggest that all actors work on projection as it was hard to hear some of them in the initial orphanage scenes. Also sometimes the screams of anguish sometimes were much too loud. In regards to the story, I found it to be a very dense and adventurous play but perhaps it could have been pared down from its 1 hour and 20-minute length. Also, there is a dramatic principle called Chekhov’s Gun which should have been adhered to. This principle states “Remove everything that has no relevance to the story. If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off. If it’s not going to be fired, it shouldn’t be hanging there” This was in relation to a telephone that was affected by the lightning in the first act that was never resolved.
The run is now finished at Adelaide Uni and now moves to the Marion Cultural Centre for the 16th and 17th of March.