Theatre review by Jules Andrews

The Spook

Written by Melissa Reeves and Directed by Neil Armfield

The South Bendigo Branch of the Communist Party of Australia 
in 1965 was not a hotbed of subversive activity: they sold the 
Tribune at the factory gates; they held a Soviet film 
night in the local hall; they organised a rally — attended by 
several dozen people — against the war in Vietnam. No trade 
union leaders sat around their table, no future Lenins or 
Guevaras; just a small group of country-town Australians with a 
firm belief in socialism doing their best under the 
circumstances.

They would surely have been surprised to learn, then, that they 
were deemed such a threat to Australia's national security that 
the secret service would go to the time and effort of deploying a 
spy amongst them.

Thus the stage is set for Company B's extremely engaging and 
powerful production of The Spook.

Playwright Melissa Reeves was inspired to write the play after 
she came across a 1991 article from the Melbourne Age. In 
"The agony and the loneliness of an ASIO spy" Bendigo resident 
Phil Geri confesses that he had joined the Communist Party in 
1963 at the behest of ASIO and had spied on his comrades for the 
next 23 years.

While Reeves certainly captures that agony and loneliness, it is 
delivered with great humour and candour by the outstanding cast.

In his portrayal of the young spy actor Tom Long exudes a 
youthful enthusiasm and nervous energy that is both endearing and 
grating.

Assured by his ASIO contact (Steve Le Marquand) that he is 
performing a great duty in the service of his country, 19-year-
old Martin takes to the job with gusto.

The play opens as Martin raves excitedly into a tape recorder 
about a party he had just attended, giving names and descriptions 
of guests, what they argued about, who drank too much and who's 
bonking whom.

However, as the years go on Martin's excitement for the job wanes 
as he not only begins to know and develop close friendships with 
his new comrades, but also finds — as a good working-class boy 
would — that he often has sympathy for their causes.

It is a turbulent time in the Australian left — anti-communist 
hysteria has split the Labor Party. The Maoists have split from 
the Communist Party. A military coup in Greece unleashes a second 
wave of mass murder against Communists there. The war in Vietnam 
is escalating and just as Hungary is becoming is becoming a 
distant memory a crisis in Czechoslovakia looms.

Melissa Reeves' thorough research of the subject matter is 
evident and is appreciated. Historical events are woven through 
the dialogue — often with great subtlety — and each piece of 
news influences Martin, his Party comrades and family members in 
a new way.

I approached this play with great caution, fearing it may descend 
into a cheap pot shot at the old commie dinosaurs as they 
lumbered towards extinction.

This fear was prompted by a review The Sydney Morning Herald 
in which the play was described as "an enjoyable romp", a 
"caricature, parody and near-farcical comedy"; the storyline as 
"stagnant and slight"; and declared that "whimsy wins out over 
the sobering truths".

Were that so had comedic style won out over the underlying 
substance then the writer, director and cast would have wasted 
enormous effort in attempting to highlight a very pressing 
political issue in Australia today.

Director Neil Armfield explains in the notes:

"My own delight in The Spook was fuelled by my memory of 
that time — my own childhood in the 1960s", says Armfield.

"It was a time of national fear and xenophobia and manipulation 
by the government, led by the repressive example of the United 
States, intent on the demonisation of Communism as a global 
threat to freedom and our way of life.

"Half a lifetime later, it all feels very familiar."

Fortunately those "sobering truths" did not escape the high 
school students filling the auditorium at the matinee I attended. 
In the Question and Answer time after the play one young student 
asked directly "What relevance does this play have for Australia 
today?"

Actor Russell Kiefel pulled no punches responding, "If you 
substitute an Iraqi Muslim for the Greek Communist you will 
immediately understand the relevance".

A quiet hum of agreement and dozens of nodding heads indicated 
that these school students had indeed understood.

The Spook is playing at the Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney, 
until December 22.

For tickets and session times go to http://www.belvoir.com.au