A powerhouse Australian ensemble cast bring to life six generations of the Gould family

We’re chatting to Isabel Kruse about ‘Against the Wall’ by Justy Kosek. Isabel is the lead creative bringing this world premiere production to Australia. Isabel played the role of Emily in the first 2018 workshop reading of ‘Against the Wall’ in New York City, and when plans to produce it off-Broadway were thwarted by Covid, her home town of Brisbane became the recipient of the production!

Tell us about the show in 100 words or less

A powerhouse Australian ensemble cast bring to life six generations of the Gould family, as they learn to love by any means necessary, from post-World War II Brooklyn to the present day. Staged for the Anywhere Festival within the walls of a Windsor second storey flat, our intimate audience is transported out of time and place, to bear witness to the extraordinary loss, and resilience, that make this family whole.

Anywhere Festival takes place anywhere but a theatre. Tell us about your venue. What is it about your space that adds to your audience experience?

The play takes place wholly in the family’s Brooklyn apartment. For the Anywhere Festival, to create the play in an actual apartment was the perfect choice. The audience becomes the fly on the wall witness to six generations of the Gould family as the apartment passes through the hands of the children and the grandchildren to the present day. The piece is not interactive, but immersive – the audience is the fly on the wall, merely metres away from the most challenging and intimate moments of the family’s hardships, and connection.

 What is your creative process like?

This is a true ensemble piece. Because we see the family grow over time, some roles are split between older and younger actors, and on top of that, some actors are doubling up in roles. So casting is the most important piece to get right in this play. We cast an interstate net, seeing actors from all over, and have truly created a powerhouse ensemble cast. Then, as a site specific piece that traverses the ‘60s, the ‘80s, the ‘90s and the present, finding those iconic costume and set pieces and props that will give our incredible actors, and our audience, the core of bringing this family to life, in a Windsor flat in Brisbane.  

Tell us your origin story. How did your collaboration start?

I have loved this play since playing Emily in its first ever workshop reading in New York City back in 2018. We did three performances to industry and backers, and at our closing night, I walked up to the writer (the incomparable Justy Kosek) and handed him the five dollars I had in my pocket at the time, and said here’s my deposit for the rights. The original intent was to produce it off-Broadway, and I had an O1 (Outstanding Artist) visa application underway to make it happen, when the world shut down. Born and bred in Brisbane, obviously I was back here as soon as practicable (actually working on a cruise ship at the time, so it took a rather harrowing journey). I stayed under a rock for a few months after getting back on land, and landed the role of Rosalind in another Anywhere Theatre production (‘As You Like It’, Thunderbear Productions). The last time I was living and working in Brisbane was when Anywhere Theatre was in its first year! The possibilities of the festival and this play that I’ve carried around in my heart for years immediately coalesced and we were lucky enough to get the late submission in to the festival accepted.

Who is your perfect audience member? Who is going to LOVE this event?

This will be an absolute treat for anyone who loves theatre, who craves transformation. This is the first iteration of the play, a world first, with a professional cast performing in the most intimate possible setting. I would love to see this play and production have a remount in a theatre, and ideally tour the majors nationally. We have varied our performance days (e.g. our first performances are the more typical Thursday-Saturday, but then we are performing Mon-Tues for the remaining two weeks of the festival) so that we’re in a great slot for audience to not have to choose between us and any of the dozens of incredible offerings at the Festival this year, and for  industry folks to be able to come see the show on their night off.

‘Against the Wall’ by Justy Kosek takes place as part of Anywhere Festival 6-18 May (6-8, 10-11, 17-18 May) at a private residence in Windsor.