Last Train to Freo, Fremantle Theatre Company ·
Victoria Hall, Friday 5 August 2022 ·

Set in a single carriage of a Transperth train travelling from Midland to Fremantle, Reg Cribb’s play Last Train to Freo is hyper-local, but also speaks to global concerns; sexual harassment, homophobia, socioeconomic status and family trauma.

Beginning life in 2001, as stage play The Return, the script was adapted by Cribb into a feature length film Last Train to Freo in 2006. In this stage remount by Fremantle Theatre Company (FTC), Cribb also directs the work that he knows inside and out.

Last Train to Freo convincingly positions itself on the Midland line, late at night. A train carriage is recreated in the middle of Victoria Hall where Cribb’s direction makes use of every inch of a traverse stage (designed by FTC Artistic Director Renato Fabretti) to create a claustrophobic environment.

In that carriage Steve and Trev (Michael Abercromby and Kazmir Sas), a couple of ex-cons, sexually harass a young woman (Chloe Hurst). Abercromby’s Steve is a somewhat charismatic sociopath alongside Sas, who prances with volatility as Trev.

Halfway through the journey they’re joined by an older woman with a suitcase (Sandie Eldridge) and a young man (Josh Vigona) who slides into the shadows with a pen and a notebook. All five performances are strong and generous as they negotiate power shifts and rising tension.

A live score by Katherine Shaw and Steve McCall, of Fremantle band M.K.Ultrasound, expertly creates a sense of foreboding, with a pulsing soundtrack that sits somewhere between a train moving over tracks and a heartbeat. Peter Young’s lighting design contrasts the harsh carriage lights with cataclysmic tunnels, building unease.

The sexual harassment presented is a familiar re-creation of behaviour that’s ubiquitous, not just on public transport but across public and private spaces. Last Train to Freo feels more observational than critical, however. At times, as power shifts, it’s almost exculpatory.

A mask on the floor and reference to a “superspreader event” put this remount in a present-day context, but the treatment of sexual harassment and representation of toxic masculinity feels dated. I wonder if it’s something that, twenty years on from the original script, could have been adapted with more care.

That voyeuristic feeling is compounded by the traverse style stage, as the audience is positioned to stare down at the actors and also gaze upon other audience members doing the same thing. The discomfort this causes mirrors a question that Last Train to Freo hints at: is there a moral obligation to step in when witnessing assault and harassment in a public place? Is there safety – or not – in numbers? It’s something I wish was explored further in the script.

Last Train to Freo gets self-reflexive and there’s a meaty twist or two, but it’s left late so that there’s a mad rush to deal with it before pulling into the station. Without risking any spoilers, the work throws up some questions about reducing people to archetypes and making assumptions. But this character drama is guilty of the very thing it critiques.

For the most part, though, there’s a pleasant cadence to the script, with tension steadily brewing but regularly released with morsels of comedy. This is a well-presented story about a handful of the people who inhabit the suburbs, seasoned with food for thought.

Last Train to Freo continues at Victoria Hall until 20 August 2022.

UPDATE Tuesday 9 August: Due to COVID cases in the cast, performances scheduled 9-13 August have been postponed to 23-27 August. FTC has advised that all ticket holders are being contacted and can either accept the change or receive a refund.

Pictured top: Michael Abercromby (foreground) plays Steve as a somewhat charismatic sociopath, while Kazmir Sas (background) prances with volatility. Photo: supplied