The Daily Telegraph
Matt Warman

Bright Lights And Dark Designs
19 August 2003

Camarilla, the latest work of up-and-coming Australian playwright Van Badham, opens like traditional agit-prop. By the play's conclusion, Badham has made modern politics into a visceral, heartfelt experience.

Media don Prof Maggy Tanner, played convincingly by Lois Norman, has been injured in a terrorist bomb blast with her daughter, Rebekah. She is a PR executive who has apparently 'sold out' to the Right, though her mother is a staunch supporter of the Left. The play brutally shows how Rebekah's political views unravel the fabric of a troubled family.

Though it sounds slightly contorted, Badham's marriage of the personal with the political makes for a strong narrative, which resolves with a tenderness that seemed utterly unlikely in the beginning. For better and for worse, her style recalls John Osborne and the dialogue is sometimes a little laboured. Nonetheless, she is a talent to watch, as is Caroline O'Kerr as daughter Rebekah. The transfer to London in October should be a hot ticket.

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