Writers: Aimee Dickinson, Isabel McGrady and Ariana Van Biljon
Director: Aimee Dickinson
Life, death and everything in between is a lot to cover in an impromptu meeting between estranged sisters in a bar. With so much to say and so little time to say it, emotions run high in this intimate and volatile performance.
Middle Distance is a new play by Aimee Dickinson, Isabel McGrady and Ariana Van Biljon, which marks their theatrical debut as ANTE. This production is a semi-immersive performance, taking place in the bar area of Arches Lane Theatre. Amiee Dickinson, Director, notes how grateful they are to the team at Arches Lane for being open to using the bar as the stage, allowing the cast to go behind the bar, clear tables, and mingle with the audience. It’s not your everyday staging.
Dickinson’s direction makes full use of the bar space, which is at times unnecessary. Some moments that are incredibly private and personal are staged front and centre. In this interactive and small space, it would be more impactful to have some conversations at the periphery, as if we (the audience) are the other bar punters and we are eavesdropping on the drama. Having all the play performed so directly to us negates the immersive staging.
We are introduced to the sisters as Tas (Molly Goetzee) visits Sophia (Iz McGrady) during a shift at the bar she works at. Tas comes with big news to announce. But as it often goes with emotionally charged relationships, there is too much history that gets in the way. The delicacy required in conveying feelings is overwhelmed by resentments that have been left to fester. They are both dealing with the loss of their brother Luke in different ways, and the play at its essence is an exploration of familial duty and love in times of grief. At times the dialogue doesn’t flow naturally, but for the most part Middle Distance is tender and well-paced.
Goetzee offers a lot of the comedy in the play; her representation of Tas slowly becoming more intoxicated as she props up the bar is nuanced. She alters her performance through the different stages of drunkenness with impressive accuracy. Tas occasionally cajoles audience members into short interactions with her, and Goetzee reacts to this improv well. McGrady plays the guarded and mocking older sister, but occasionally the delivery is stilted, and this loses the emotional anchor we need from her character.
Middle Distance is a one-act play running 60 minutes long. Where this play shines is in its exploration of sisterly obligation and how to combat conversations where everything comes out wrong. The unfortunate downside is that Middle Distance doesn’t say anything new or particularly poignant. At times, it feels like an ambush of trauma as the characters wade through the nitty-gritty of their lives to little avail.
Runs until 21 September 2026
