Hannie Rayson’s Hotel Sorrento, was first performed in 1990 by the Playbox Theatre Company winning three awards. It now has over 50 productions throughout Australia and overseas and this year it is the 20th anniversary of HIT’s first production of the play in 1998. Her work as an Australian playwright has gained her a plethora of awards including two Australian Writers’ Guild Awards, four Helpmann Awards, two NSW Premier’s Literary Awards, a Victorian Premier’s Literary Award, the Age Performing Arts Award and the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award.
The HIT production of Hotel Sorrento is directed by Denny Lawrence, a director of TV, film and drama including: Archer; The Bill; and A Country Practice and HIT drama productions of Educating Rita, Shirley Valentine and Glorious! The play is studded with stars of Australian screen, all who performed well illustrating their expertise in theatre: Ruth Caro as Hilary (Home & Away, The Glass Menagerie); Joanne Booth as Pippa (Neighbours, A Country Practice); Kim Denman as Meg (Blue Heelers, West Side Story); Jenny Seedsman as Marge (Inheritance, Neighbours); Dennis Coard as Wal (Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, Blue Heelers); Saxon Gray as Troy (Twelfth Night, Moonlite); and Dion Mills as Edwin (The Flick, Jack Irish).
The main setting is at the family home of sleepy seaside Sorrento in Victoria, referred to as the Hotel Sorrento by the family. The three sisters, divided by tragedy and secrets return to reunite after 10 years apart when sister Meg (Kim Denman), a successful writer, returns from England bringing her opinionated English husband. She has published a semi-autobiographical novel, which is shortlisted for the esteemed Booker Prize, but instead of being congratulated by her two sisters, her success is ignored, causing family tension and resurfacing old wounds and secrets.
Hilary (Ruth Caro), is the responsible sister who stayed in the family home with her father and her sweet 16-year-old son (Saxon Gray), after both her mother and husband died. Mystery surrounds the cause of her husband Gary’s car crash, with both sister Pippa (Joanne Booth), a businesswoman visiting from New York, and sister Meg being implicated. When tragedy strikes again and their salt-of-the-earth father Wal goes missing at the beach, the family is in turmoil with the three sisters embroiled in a game of blame and accusations. Adding to the turbulence is Dick Bennett (Mike Smith), a Melbourne-based journalist who wants the insider knowledge on the Booker Prize nominee, Meg.
Despite being referred to as a comedy, and quoted by the director Denny Lawrence as “an often very funny piece of entertaining first-rate theatre,” there was very little comedy. Despite Hotel Sorrento highlighting the darker issues caused in families, it is more of a political vehicle as an essay on Australian identity and the need for Australians to justify their value in the wider world. The character of Edwin Bates, the English husband to Meg, is a stereotyped chinless wonder who berates Australians for their crass, misogynistic and colloquial behaviours. His character is balanced by the Australian crass and misogynistic political journalist, Dick Bennett who presents the counterargument. The family lunch setting for their bipolar diatribe on Australian culture seemed forced and contrived, and did not seem to fit with the crisis the family were enduring at the time. However, there were some nice shared moments between Troy (Saxon Gray) and his Grandfather, Wal (Dennis Coard).
Overall, the play is probably more accoladed for its discussion of Australian identity and social awareness, which arose in the 1990s as Australia began to be recognised for its cultural contributions to the World, rather than the play itself which was poignant, but often laboured and contrived.
Hotel Sorrento presented by HIT Productions and QUT Gardens Theatre
Written by Hannie Rayson and directed by Denny Lawrence
QUT Gardens Theatre, Brisbane
18th and 19th September, 2018
Dr Gemma Regan