_Retaliation_ is a hugely ambitious and energetic performance...

Is violence ever a solution?

Southern Youth Theatre Ensemble’s (SYTE) original rock musical Retaliation is a colourful, ambitious and high-energy exploration of the insidious effects of violence in young peoples’ lives. Several format and technical issues impact on its ability to communicate effectively to a broader audience. Still, it’s full of ideas with great potential and is a fantastic example of the positive experiences that community theatre groups can provide for young people involved in them.

Retaliation follows crusading high school journalist Becca Leech as she comes up against the evil executives of Proton Enterprises, producers of ultra-popular, ultra-violent video games. As her investigation continues, Becca is transported into Proton’s newest game and discovers that she must find a way to reconcile warring galactic armies, in order to survive.

The young people involved in SYTE played a key role in developing the narrative, in collaboration with local playwright Alex Vickery-Howe. Local groups like Impact, a coalition of local organisations aiming to raise awareness of the effects of violence on young people, also supported the project. The narrative’s key metaphors—hyperreality, artificially limited choice and diminished virtual existence—have huge potential that was not quite developed in the performance. Nonetheless, the presence of such ideas testifies to the creativity of southern Adelaide’s young people.

The enthusiasm and energy of the young performers shines through and reminds us why youth theatre companies like SYTE are so important. Ashlee Ewins’ crusading Becca, Sam Page’s blustering Teeko and Bess Simper-Brown’s curious Kismet all provide plenty of amusement. Two of the performance’s focal points are the spectacular projection and digital art by Adelaide artist LuKu and costume design by Alia Guidace. LuKu creates innovative large-scale backdrops and visual effects and is one of Retaliation’s most impressive features. Guidace’s costumes for all key characters are vivid and well realised.

Several issues impact on Retaliation’s ability to communicate ideas to the audience. Technical issues with microphone levels and poor vocal projection mean that much of the dialogue is very difficult to hear. Much of the action also takes place well back on stage. These things force many in the cast to shout their lines, which leaves them hoarse and reduces their ability to convey the emotional subtleties of their characters through dialogue.

There is also a sense that more time might have been needed to finetune the focus of the script and develop the ensemble’s gestural and vocal acting skills. Understandably, given the subject matter the team was keen to avoid moralising and to make sure the performance stayed light-hearted. However, the presence of several highly caricatured characters, including Becca’s father and Princess Blaze, shifts the tone of the performance. This means that the ensemble must work much harder to present its serious ideas about violence in a sincere way. Similarly, there are several side plots (two love stories and the death of Becca’s mother) which, while amusing, shift the focus away from the exploration of violence in young people’s lives.

The rock musical format of the narrative also contributes to altering its focus. The performers give their all for each musical piece; but the singing and choreography are sometimes distracting and some songs, like the love song performed to projections of falling leaves, might fit better in a play with less serious themes. There are also several scenes, played by young actors with strong overtones of sexual violence. The implications—when JB Swan tortures Becca’s school friends and when the two captains ask each other: ‘what will she do with that whip?’—are meant humorously, but seem to clash with the performance’s central message.

Retaliation is a hugely ambitious and energetic performance that doesn’t quite reach all the goals it sets for itself. At the end of the day, though, ambition is a great thing and the young people at the centre of the performance should be proud of what they’ve achieved. On closing night, the whole ensemble got up and joined in dancing on the stage at the end of the show. If SYTE and its young performers can maintain this energy and enthusiasm as they finetune the technical and directorial details of their performances, future shows will be worth keeping an eye on.

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