The December Brother, 14 August 2010, Downstage
On 20 June 1994, 5 members of the Bain family were shot dead in their Dunedin home. David Bain was subsequently convicted of their murders, and served 13 years of a life sentence before being acquitted in 2009 after succesfully appealing his convictions to the Privy Council. Despite his acquittal, however, the subject of David Bain’s guilt or innocence remains contentious – at least in some circles – to this day.
SEEyD Theatre’s The December Brother neatly sidesteps such contention (and potential legal action) by presenting a fictionalised retelling of both the prosecution and defense versions of the events of that day in June, one after the other. The result is both compelling and horrifying, with both Hadleigh Walker (David Bain) and Tim Spite (Robin Bain) delivering thoroughly convincing performances.
The depictions of the Bain murders form the second of the play’s three acts – thankfully, given how harrowing this is, it’s bookended by somewhat lighter material. Each act is a self-contained vignette; the first act tells the true story of Tony Spite’s (Tim Spite’s father) search for his birth family, while the third (fictional) act ties the themes of the first two acts together.
After the first two acts, you could be forgiven for wondering how The December Brother could ever come together into a coherent whole – act one and act two being so vastly different in subject and in tone. Both are well acted and beautifully designed (the lighting and sound design in particular is impeccable) but seemingly worlds apart.
It’s a testament to the skill of the creative team that it all manages to come together in the end, with the third act being essentially an exploration of an idea mooted near the beginning of the play. As Tony Spite begins his search for his birth family, someone asks him “what if you turn out to be related to David Bain?” and Act Three takes this and runs with it.
The December Brother checks in at over 2 hours long, and while it’s compelling and at times hilarious, it’s also challenging and uncomfortable, and might not be for everyone. Nevertheless, it’s hard not to conclude that this is an important piece of New Zealand theatre.
- By Jarrod, One comment
- Posted 18 August 2010
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What a great review - thanks Jarrod!
By Downstage, 19 August 2010