In keeping with New Zealand theatre’s dark themes, Thomas Sainsbury’s The Mall, directed by Heidi Geissler, delivers an engrossing analysis of human motivation. A simplistic set of tables and chairs with low hanging lights is set for the audience to walk through on the way to find their seats. While it initially seems a little lack lustre, the subsequent performances from the actors more than makes up for it.

Piped in ‘elevator music’ sets the tones nicely, and provides a helpful backdrop to some of the later scenes. The lighting is excellent except for a slight hiccup with one of the set tables being too far back from the overhead light, leading to shadowing of one actor’s face during several scenes.  

The main storyline follows Dean, a depressed and increasingly unstable chain cinema employee who works in the titular mall. Dean shares his inner thoughts and daily grind with the audience through diary entries. Frustrated by his lack of purpose and inability to motivate himself beyond basic tasks his story grows and morphs from mundane and bitterly comedic to utterly horrifying.

Such an emotionally volatile character could easily be played too large and border on the ridiculous but Ben McCarthy manages to be utterly captivating throughout the entire performance. He draws the audience into his darkly comic life, generating raucous laughter then turning the tables on them and delving into the depths of moral depravity before they realise that he has them laughing at undeniably awful things.

Dean’s story is punctuated by vignettes following the lives of various other characters located in the mall: an Indian immigrant struggling with the separation from his family and with his boss and fellow employees; two teenage girls who pull a Sudanese school transfer into their shopping antics; an obsessive young man who spends his days of unemployment hiding out in the mall’s game shop; a couple of bored housewives who are half-heartedly raising aid funds for impoverished children and an adorable pair of supermarket employees exploring their budding romance. These vignettes in turn are bookended by radio broadcast excerpts highlighting the horrors of international turmoil, often indirectly referring to the characters’ situations. 

The actors in The Mall are all of astounding ability. Emma Bauer is particularly impressive; her physicality and perfect comic timing are a delight to watch. Orion Carey-Clark’s acting is also extremely impressive, he completely captures the attention of the audience when on stage, but never at the expense of his fellow actors.

Ashley Stewart’s characters are all vastly different which gives him the opportunity transform in front of the audience; his portrayal of Willy is utterly adorable. Joelle Peters (who, it should be noted has only been involved in the production for two and a half weeks) is wonderful, in fact she is one of the only actors who manages to fully and convincingly embody a character of a different race from her own (something the others struggle with). She also shares a delightful comic rapport with Emma Bauer.

Miriam Noonan has one of the most challenging roles as Bing, a young Chinese immigrant set on revenge. Silent for the entire first act, she is often on stage, and while she is occasionally noticeable, she largely has her back to the audience. I believe a little more business directed toward the audience would allow them to see her sly observations of the other characters more clearly. I also feel that Bing’s motivations could be more overtly expressed; her seduction of Dean isn’t entirely convincing (and is a significant plot point) and her deadpan deliveries, while chilling and on the mark at times, are occasionally too understated and so lose their potency. That being said, Bing is a truly bizarre and unsettling character and I applaud Noonan’s attempts to bring her to life.

The use of mime throughout the play does become a little distracting at times. A few simple props would go a long way and allow the actors to perform more convincing business.

The main issue I have with the actors’ performances is the ‘whitewashing’ effect on the characters of non-Caucasian descent. While I am sure this comes from a place of concern and desire to avoid racial stereotyping and insensitivity, the ethnic backgrounds of these characters is significant in the story line. While all the actors dealing with this issue do a terrific job of embodying all other aspects of these characters, they all (except for Joelle Peters) skip over attempting accents that would help the audience believe in their characters more.

As I say, I’m sure it is an issue of wanting to be respectful, but it definitely detracts from their performance. As an actor it is your job to fully transform into a character and portray them as they are written. While it can be difficult, it is entirely possibly to deliver a sensitive performance of a character of a race that differs from your own.

Over all, though, this is a spectacular production. Heidi Geissler has done a fantastic job of assembling it, her direction has brought together a top quality cast who clearly love the work they are doing, and they have thrived under her guidance. The Mall is a challenging play, bringing the concerns of violence, consumerism and the impacts of commercialism to the forefront, and this production of it is not to be missed.

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