Game. Set. Match.
Perhaps the most telling image in Megan Wilding’s magnificent Game. Set. Match., marking her mainstage debut as writer, is right there waiting as we sit down in the Malthouse’s Beckett Theatre.
Crustless halves of a white bread sandwich are smeared over the eyes of an imperious figure, the late Betty Hughes. Blinded on her lofty pedestal, a monochrome photographic portrait perched on an easel, this white woman is no longer able to see. But would she have bothered to care about what we’re about to observe anyway?
This tellingly tasty vandalism sits to one side of the austere, cream-and-teal-painted private room, conjured by set designer Isla Shaw, in which the tennis great is venerated, her white dress, rackets and a youthful portrait framed on the wall.
Wilding, who also stars as Ray, is tasked with tidying the clutter left behind in Betty’s literal wake, a celebration of her achievements on court and, latterly, as a power figure in the Australian Open organisation.
Clutching a bin bag, Ray’s startled by Joshua, a pale-blue-suited figure in a daze. Portrayed by Rick Davies, best known for TV shows including Offspring and Apple Cider Vinegar, he immediately insists he’s no threat to her. Odd first words called out by Ray.
Joshua missed the funeral, something of a big deal, we soon find out, and is more messed up, emotionally, than the room.
Sounds like an intriguing set-up. But what’s it all about?
Well, I think that symbolism speaks for itself. Or rather, for the smart...