A Man, a Woman, a cabin and a lot
of fish. This is the set up for Red Stitch’s latest production
and the Australian premiere of Jez Butterworth’s The
River. The story is quite straightforward, with The Man bringing The
Woman to his cabin to go fishing, but the performances and technical aspects
present allow for a deeper understanding of what it means to be loved
and to be deceived.It’s been over a year since I saw Dion Mills in another fantastic Red Stitch production, Wet House, and with The River, Mills again shows his powerful ability not only to get inside his characters’ heads but to be able to so with apparent ease. Apart from his skill in masterfully gutting a fish, Mills’ The Man is a fine balance of masculinity, fragility and mystery and his naturalistic portrayal of him makes this character seem all the more tragic.