Liam Dodds

As the world becomes more and more connected with each other through
such things as technology, politics and current affairs, there is a growing
number of myths surrounding many countries around the world.
Sometimes of course this has a negative affect. Regardless of whether
these myths hold any truth, it is fair to say that Australia is known for quite
a few of them. Brendan Cowells enthralling play The Sublime follows the
lives of three athletes bound for stardom. The storyline links to the myth
that Australians create the centre of our culture with only sport, which
then affects what our society sees on news reports and social media.
Other messages throughout the play suggest that our use of language is so
exaggerated that it is mimicked around the world. Due to this myth being
presented to audiences it clears any idea that theatre has any role in our
culture when in actual fact it is the reason that we are able to show visitors
about who we are, therefor having a much larger role than what people
think. The Sublime presents elements of these myths through their use of
lighting, set and even audio. These are also linked to the clever use of
dialogue and setting.

Brendan Cowells play The Sublime presented by the Melbourne Theatre
company, at Arts Centre Melbourne explores a topic that is the base our
Australian culture; football. This well thought out plot was presented in a
way that will give anyone the idea that football can absorb Australians so
much so that it becomes an excuse for a social event, a night in of
television or even how any normal person should spend their weekend.
Upon entering the performance space, you are confronted with the sounds
of Australian band ACDCs Highway to hell. This use of audio gave the
audience the feeling of a hot summers day at the MCG, complimented by
the set made to look like a leveled seating area of a football oval,
something that I myself hold close to my upbringing. The show begins and
you are blinded by what is assumed to be the brightness of the MCG
floodlights and before you, appear two passionate males arguing over AFL
and NRL, being two of Australias most popular football sports. The two
banter for a few moments with the repetition of the words AFL, NRL, AFL,
NRL
1
etc. This gave the audience the impression that it was a common
occurrence in any household. The corridor resembled clearly of where
players enter major stadiums before games, strategically placed in the
middle of the performance space to allow audiences to see the effect of
walking in and out of that darkness, symbolizing the bad effects that A-
league can have behind the big bright lights. Whilst these two men are
seen to be in the public eye and perceived as heroes, they are confronted
with many issues that do affect their lives forever. The play also highlights
the womens role in the Australian sport scene and how the general public
sees them.

1
The Sublime, Brendan Cowell, Melbourne Theatre Company.
Liam Dodds


Female character in the Sublime Amber is subject to a lot of the blame
when a rape case begins after a post-season team trip to Thailand. The
Sublime hits the nail on the hammer with this plot point. A segment from
Athletes, Sexual Assault, and Trials By Media Says that The same
patterns of distributing blame and responsibility are repeated in each
case
2
. Loosely based on the St Kilda football club rape scandal last year,
Cowell explores the stereotype of the young Australian female dying to
date an AFL football star. Audiences are presented with a graphic recount
of the turn of events during the play, with all three actors having their own
story, fighting for them all to be heard. All of the dialogue changes between
speaking in first person and addressing the audience, to actually being in
the scene, re-creating the situation, for example; I asked if he wanted to
go for a walk. Do you want to go for a walk? He said no. No.
3
As an
audience member this technique of story telling was extremely affective in
engaging the emotions and provoking thoughts that are linked to the over-
all theme and myth of how the country is so absorbed in sport. This is
used throughout the entire performance and is also structured around the
change of mood, linking to the lighting changes and of course then the
dialogue. The Sublime makes many references to the Australian myth but
it also then also allows the audience to ponder on theatre as a whole, and
its place in our culture.

In recent years, but essentially for decades before, there has been an
argument as to what worth the Australian theatre scene holds in our
stereotypical culture. Whilst a large amount of the country surrounds
themselves with sports like AFL and NRL, the theatre industry has been
struggling to stay a float. Seeing the Sublime being performed by The
Melbourne Theatre Company proved these ideas to be wrong. The show is
a straight play, a piece of art that highlights the all-Australian myth, which
is proven to hold some truth. Using theatre to educate people on who we
are IS and should be part of culture here. For visitors to the country we
need to have a positive motive and view on life, hence why extending out
to the wider community or the arts society is the perfect solution. If we
want a theatre that belongs to us, and I certainly do, then we should
properly support the people who are making it, mostly uncelebrated, at
the edges of the spotlight.
4
Posted by Alison Groggon for the ABC, this
journal tells us that there is a need and interest for theatre in Australia it
just needs a chance.

2
Athletes, Sexual Assault, and Trials By Media, Deb Waterhouse Watson
3
The Sublime, Brendan Cowell, Melbourne Theatre Company
4
ABC online- Major companies must support independent artists if Australian
theatre is to flourish

Liam Dodds

It has become such a normal part of that life all Australians are just
assumed to be football fanatics who surround their lives around the sport.
This myth holds some truth but it is not the only thing that the Sublime
highlights for Australians. As an audience member I particularly noticed
that they were heavily focussing on an issue that I think not only defines
Australian sports stars but athletes around the world. In Australia we put
our footballers on a pedestal and this can have some serious negative
effects on the game, the culture and the true meaning behind the AFL or
NRL games. Cowell makes it clear in his script that rape or any form of
sexual harassment isnt accepted here in Australia but he also highlights
the mere fact that these superstars get away with it. The reason behind
this is to keep the public happy, to give them what they want and to
continue the mass amounts of money rolling into the clubs and television
stations contributing to the sport. In particular this is shown in a scene
when Liam and his Co-player are being interviewed on the footy show. The
host makes a joke referencing the amount of rip and tear
5
that occurred
on the trip away. Amber watches the interview and is repulsed that they
could make fun of such a serious issue. Although the audience never sees a
recount of a court trial, they are told through narration that the case was
dropped due to lack of evidence and it was believed they were being
punished enough for any offenses by being suspended. When leaving the
theatre many audience members were heard using the phrase, well that
was a little too close to home wasnt it. This is because unfortunately
these kinds of situations happen too often in Australia.

Australians are known for their Bogan like language, their crazy football
fans and of course the shrimp on the Barby well this is according to the
rest of the world. Our people love football, we love the hot whether and a
beer here and there, but the other aspects of Australian life are covered up
by such myths that are presented in Brendan Cowells The Sublime.
Australian theatre has many major contributors like the Melbourne
Theatre Company and the Malthouse Theatre Company that are then
internally subsidising to what the general public view as a culture.
Whether this is shown through a clich football based production or a
Shakespeare performance in the Botanic Gardens, they are all creating a
culture for any type of Australian.








5
The Sublime, Brendan Cowell, Melbourne Theatre Company
Liam Dodds




BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cambridge Journals. "Cambridge Journals Online - New Theatre Quarterly
- Abstract - Theatre Analysis: Some Questions and a Questionnaire."
Accessed September 12, 2014.
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=onl
ine&aid=3016088.


Croggon, Alison. "Major companies must support independent artists if
Australian theatre is to flourish." (2014):
http://www.abc.net.au/arts/blog/Alison-Croggon/Major-companies-
must-support-independent-artists-if-Australian-theatre-is-to-
flourish/default.htm.


Waterhouse-Watson, Deb. Athletes, Sexual Assault, and "Trials by Media":
Narrative Immunity. 2013.