REVIEW: THE DAMAGE DONE
What happens after too much has happened? This is what George F. Walker’s very affecting play reveals in Matthew Willson’s emotionally charged and brilliantly acted The Damage Done.
In this two-hander drama, Tina (a devastatingly realistic and captivating Rebecca Durance Hine) has called Bobby (a raw and vulnerable performance from Adam Lemieux) to meet her in the park where they have met before when they had to talk about something important. She needs his help. Will he step up to the plate?
Audiences can come to The Damage Done and appreciate it without having seen the previous two Walker plays that deal with Bobby and Tina from their teenage years to now (Tough! and Moss Park respectively). In The Damage Done, it catches the audience up quickly: Tina is unhinged with doubt, worry and lack of confidence. The pressures of raising two daughters and coping with failed relationships and it has taken its toll while her ex-husband is between jobs and struggles to do anything of merit.
Director Matthew Willson carefully negotiates Durance Hine and Lemieux around the space and each other in a believable way and suggests, from the very start, that this couple has a history; once romantically involved and have children but aren’t involved now. Bobby has only loved her. Tina is disappointed by him. It all comes out in the actor’s body language and, at times, explosive staging.
Rebecca Durance Hine’s performance as Tina is both angst and anger filled but with nuance so her character isn’t resigned to continuous ranting. Durance Hine gives an incredible, compelling performance of a woman almost disintegrating in front of us. Adam Lemieux is cast perfectly as a flighty man-boy who shirks away from any real sense of responsibility. Together, this sparks a volatile and argumentative paring that is realistic, upsetting and relatable.
The Damage Done is full of content warnings about domestic violence and mental health (thankfully given ahead of entering the theatre space). It is an uncomfortable but exceptionally well-staged and performed drama that will leave you feeling equal parts hopeful and melancholy. If you’re looking for a powerful drama showcasing some of the strongest talent I’ve seen thus far, then this may be the show for you.
