Review: The Wolves at Theatre Works

Review by Greg Gorton

Belle Hansen’s new production of the Pulitzer-nominated The Wolves is a frantic, vibrant show that works thanks primarily to clean designs and talented actors. While I’ve never been sold by the play-text, it is difficult to fault this presentation of the ambitious script.

The play is set in an indoor football (soccer) arena, “on the pitch”. Nine teenage girls are a part of a team - they are peers, rather than friends, and take their sport seriously. Here you must remember that in America, even school sports are the beginnings of careers or, at least, college scholarships. The Theatreworks floor is now artificial grass, with Tom Vulcan’s lighting design making us feel like we really are sitting on adjacent sides of a football field. Jack Burmeister’s sound naturalistic design places us in different times as the season goes on, and the girls wear quite realistic uniforms. In essence, we are immersed in the world, and all that remains is the action.

Hansen’s direction is, as is to be expected, a little loud. Exercise drills move in and out of stage, or look a little suspiciously like dance choreography. It’s fun, and isn’t used so much that it pulls away the more serious moments in the play. While some of the “lesser” characters of the play have been given the caricature treatment, it would be difficult to find more within the language of the script.

It is the actors that make this play most worthwhile. Nine talented performers who, working against the complexity of that opening scene, negligible or non-existent character dynamics, and little character growth, had me leaving the night feeling like I was leaving behind nine young women of infinite complexity. I honestly have to congratulate them all, so bear with me…

Alana Lopera’s #2 comes across at first as a caricature of “hopelessly sheltered”, but even in the early moments Lopera refuses to play the personality trait as one that is weak. Ellie Nunan’s anxious goalie is a lesson in how to act when no one is watching, and we are clearly shown how Eleanor Golding’s “well actually” #11 comes from a thirst for education, not a snobbish elitism. #14 is a no-nonsense character, and Shanu Sobti’s portrayal keeps a youthful vulnerability alive within them.

Erin Perrey plays the team captain with some subtlety, living with a tension between distancing as a captain and wanting to be close as a peer. While I’ve seen Perrey fill a stage with ease, this quieter performance was equally as impressive. 

Kristie Kriaris-Tsotras might have the most complex character to deal with, so much of her story lines created and dropped within lines, but even when the written character changes so much, their portrayal is singular. Desiree Katakis has the fortune of performing one of the more developed characters, and her stage presence does make it difficult to not see her as the lead in what is actually an attempt at a well-rounded ensemble piece.

Among these truly talented actors, two stood out a little more than others. 

The role of #8 can be quite an awkward one - it is too easy to fall into the strap of “this is what a nerdy girl is like”. With Hansen’s direction, Marlena Thomson has created a complex character of a young woman finding ways to fit in while being true to herself, and I think this is one of those times when the performed role is so much greater than the writer would have anticipated.

Less surprisingly, Bek Schilling as #7 is one of perfection. I shudder to think about how many Regina George versions of this character have been and will be performed, but Schilling’s considered interpretation avoids all the cliched bullying or tantrums that lesser portrayals would involve. In a room of wonderful actors, Schilling also appears to be the one that can best say a line that contradicts the words that are coming out of their mouth.

I’m not sold on Sarah DeLappe’s The Wolves. It might be all the American-ness of it all, or the stilted “talking over each other” dialogue that couldn’t come across as real with the greatest actors in the world. What I can say is that Belle Hansen’s production of The Wolves is likely to be the best version of this script you will ever get to see.

Image Supplied