Although this plot has more holes in it than the proverbial sieve, taken as an allegory it works very well.  

Lead and author, Michael Galvin is impressive and smooth as Simon, the silky-tongued evangelist turned zealot – smooth enough not to get his hands dirty when it comes to the messy business of killing. 

Antonia Prebble, the other cast member who has been there from the beginning and plays Veronica, I found less than totally convincing as a femme-fatale honey-pot but she does enough for Karl Drinkwater, as the damaged-soul soldier Son, to fall for her hook line and sinker.   

Laughs come mainly from the lines written for Mother, Donogh Rees, and she puts them over superbly with a true comic’s sense of timing. Her death, accompanied by a lovely starry night sky and the gentle sound of breaking waves, is what we might all aspire to.  She deserved it!

Elena Doyle, multimedia designer, is to be congratulated for her amazing picture-framed interpretations of the Stations of the Cross. At times they are frightening, at others beautiful, even breath-taking, and Geoff Maddock’s mood music adds much to the production.   

The costume designer, Tania Klouwens – decking out Mother in florals, Veronica in skimpy gear, the soldier Son in tired denims and Simon in Destiny-like black smarts – subtly let us know quite a lot about the characters personalities.

There are some fantastic moments: Simon, having given a passionate harangue directly to the audience – his congregation – and introduced a new convert, talking in tongues; Son comparing Jesus Christ to Superman, the Apostles to X-Men; Mother’s description of the crucifixion of Simon, “All his Easters have come at once.” Just a few of them.

Station to Station has a strong anti-war message and also faces up to incest, sadism for the sake of it, sexual obsession and – touchingly portrayed by Son – the emotional trauma caused by killing sometimes innocent people, just because they are in the wrong place and on the other side. A day after the tenth anniversary of 9/11, its message was even more poignant.

The script pushes boundaries and is none the worse for that.   At this first night in Nelson, in our lovely newly-restored Theatre Royal, the audience lapped it up. Congratulations to the Director, Cameron Rhodes, and to Michael Galvin, both for his vision and his excellent portrayal of someone we all should avoid. I look forward to his next play, perhaps minus a doubly-dying woman performing superhuman and incredible feats of force.  
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International events collide with personal passions as a charismatic television presenter turned religious zealot, Simon, and his beautiful sidekick Veronica, take a mother and son on a rollercoaster ride from Kiwi suburbia to Jerusalem. Caught in a thrilling, dream-like journey, the foursome negotiate a bewildering world in which nothing is quite what it seems – and the most innocent actions can have explosive consequences.

Michael Galvin has scripted a play that, although slightly uneven, is intriguing, at times deeply engaging and delightfully surprising. The play is structured in short scenes and explores the souls of those who pray as they prey on others. Fortunately the characters move beyond the stereotypes we fear they may be in the initial scenes and the plot takes a thoroughly enjoyable turn for the unexpected.

As we move from ‘Station To Station’, however, the plot device of structuring the play in scenes around the fourteen ‘stations of the cross’ reveals its failings. A few scenes feel as if they are there simply to fit the plot’s construction. To employ the wordplay of Simon, there are one or two ‘stations’ we might be better to pass by without stopping.

Galvin’s script opens a number of cans of worms: religion, world politics and the manipulation of one human being by another in the service of those ideologies. These are pretty big cans. His play does not, however, empty them out and rake through the contents, and wisely so. Instead what he delivers is an intriguing exploration of the twisted depths of characters’ hearts. Simon may be a preacher, Galvin is not.

Cameron Rhodes directs and he has drawn some wonderful performances from his cast. As the charismatic ex-television presenter turned fanatical pastor, Michael Galvin oozes smarm and charisma in equal proportions in the role of Simon. Confident on stage as an actor and as the character, Galvin does not quite elicit a “Halleluiah” from the audience, but he’s not far off. Give him one more Sunday and we’ll be converted.

The character of Veronica, played by Antonia Prebble, is a conflicted and manipulative catalyst. Prebble brings Veronica alive in scenes of heightened emotion. Occasional awkward mannerisms are a distraction but Prebble’s power vocally is notable and her ability to carry her character on voice alone is impressive.

Karl Drinkwater is at ease in his role as a mercenary returned home to visit his dying mother, conveying the caring but at odds nature of their relationship and his frustrations with her annoying personality. He employs the Enzed dialect perfectly and brings a reserve to his character that is, especially in the early scenes, effective.

Donogh Rees, playing the ailing mother, an engaging droll character whose lines are witty and sharp – thank you Mr Galvin – is reason enough to see this play. Rees’ performance is natural and nuanced, it may be a cliché to say it but Rees inhabits the role and every one of her scenes is riveting. Rees carries the unlikely turns of the plot making them rich and real – the odd childhood story Mother recounts, which could have become a ‘gag’, is perfectly natural in Rees’ confident performance.

There are some odd choices of music – given the minimal set and short scenes, we need some guidance as to where we are located and yet the opportunity to use music as a cue is not taken. The images referencing the particular Station of the Cross are effective. The lighting design by Nik Janiurek is excellent. 

Station To Station is darkly funny, rich with the strangeness of humanity, thought-provoking and engaging theatre – a journey worth taking. 
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