Writer: Chanel Fernandes
Director: Emily Ling Williams
Amber and Bella are subject to a police interrogation when fellow student Jacob fails to return home from a night out. A non-linear timeline of events is presented to us over the course of fifty minutes as the two flatmates face a flawed justice system. Wasted won the Bill Cashmore Award, which seeks to enable emerging artists to produce innovative and thought-provoking work. Although not entirely unique in terms of story, this short play certainly starts conversations and establishes writer and performer Chanel Fernandes as an enlivening new talent.
When Amber (Fernandes) is sexually assaulted she is forced to endure rigorous questioning. Her claims are relentlessly dissected by the police, creating self-doubt and concern that there won’t be any ramifications for her attacker. Amber states only 1% of reported rapes lead to a conviction. With little confidence in the police, she and Bella decide to take matters into their own hands.
Fernandes offers a masterful depiction of a somewhat shy and reserved student, which makes her traumatic experience all the harder for us to digest. Emanating fragility while trying to sound strong when leaving her mother a voicemail makes for one of the more poignant scenes. We empathise with this character and understand the reasons behind her actions. In contrast, Kane Feagan’s Bella exudes student swagger and lives for the partying lifestyle. The actor effortlessly generates comedy, providing welcome light amidst the shade while also excavating her own character’s vulnerabilities. The two work exceedingly well together – we believe in them and find ourselves rooting for them too.
Discarded pizza boxes pile out of a wheelie bin and empty bottles of booze litter the floor of Sonya Smullen’s spacious set. The detailed student accommodation combined with such moments as a kettle boiling and toast being made in real time allows for a suitably naturalistic feel. This is facilitated by a script brimming with colloquialisms and authentic language. It draws us closely into the characters’ lives, allowing certain critical moments to carry suitable impact.
Contrasting with the student set is a screen which conceals the investigating officers, portrayed by Wilf Walsworth and James Douglas-Quarcoopome. Seeing their shadowy silhouettes is jarring and immediately extracts us from the world we are entrenched in. It’s an effective artistic choice, suggesting the police are distant and somewhat removed. This ties in with the plays exploration of victim blaming, while also creating the sense that something dark and indefinitely transformative is encroaching on our protagonist’s world. Lex Kosanke’s almost invasive bursts of sound pull us from the action between scenes and elevate the tension throughout.
With such a short run time, this is a suitably tense and taut production. Fernandes makes her points and pretty much gets out of there with director Emily Ling Williams ensuring a rapid pace prevails. The naturalism permits believability in terms of character relationships and reactions, although there are moments which might have benefited from further expansion. Overall, the stylish aesthetics and sharp, snappy delivery allows the piece to feel fresh, contemporary and urgent. Crucially there is substance beneath the surface with stigmatisation, misogyny and trauma at the heart of this timely tale.
Reviewed on 24 March 2023
