Tuesday, 14 January 2025

Glory Down The Line review

At times, Tully Jones' Glory Down The Line plays like an M. Night Shyamalan script, where ordinary people get caught in extraordinary situations. Here, two strangers wait in a remote town for a bus to take them on a hike. Where's the tour group? Why are they the only ones there? Who keeps calling them on a seemingly broken payphone? Naturally there's additional surprises to be revealed along the way but that would be falling into spoiler territory.

Julia Gasparini and Henry Stephensen deliver admirable performances as Simone and Brayden. There are instances where the direction could have pushed the actors to go further in eliciting appropriate responses to the story. As the plot unfolded, Simone and Brayden's acceptance of what is happening without showing concern or worry came across as inauthentic. Gasparini and Stephensen share good chemistry and play off each other well, particularly in the opening moments of the narrative.

The minimal set design effectively builds the atmosphere with old and tattered sheets of fabric hanging across the back of the stage, and an ominously lit payphone (with some creative license) sitting to the side. The music also introduces us to the environment we are in and goes on to support the story's suspense as we fall deeper into this world.

And like Shyamalan, the ending is where this work unfortunately becomes clunky and undone. The aggressiveness Brayden releases onto Simone is out of the blue and unjustifiable given how he has presented up until then. Similarly, Simone's reaction once she pieces things together required more emotional heft to give the twist the legitimacy it deserved.

Glory Down The Line
is a bold attempt in integrating the harsh Australian landscape into a story of mystery and fate. A refocus on how the direction and writing present the finale would help elevate this production into a more powerful and stirring exploration of loss, grief and mourning.

Show Details

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 5 Carson Place Melbourne
Season: until 18 January | 7:00pm
Duration: 60 minutes
Tickets: $39 Full | $35 Concession
Bookings:
The Butterfly Club

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