TRUTH The Parks Theatre Until 02 Mar 2018 Review by Talia Gaertner-Jones “Truth” is a play written by local Adelaide playwright Karen Sierp. Delving into adolescent minds, the play focuses on one night’s events. The audience is taken through flashbacks of evidence that piece together a story of ‘alleged’ misconduct, while also being given the role of the jury in a court room drama. Daniel Jarmyn plays Ted, a teenager on trial in a court of law. He is being questioned over the hacking of his ex-girlfriend, Jess’, Facebook page, along with an accusation of misconduct. Ted is a multi-dimensional character, moving from confident, cool and outgoing with his friends, reserved and vague while being questioned by Sergeant and emotionally soft during the final hours of the trial. Jarmyn portrays his journey in a beautifully realistic manner. The physicality of the role in the moments between scenes and his movement around the stage is stunning as he is able to build intensity and drop everything just as fast. As the audience is left to decide his character’s fate in the final stage of the trial his vulnerability and weakness will have you doubting your previous thoughts. Running through this roller coaster with Ted is his group of friends. All have very strong character traits and together the entire cast create a magnificent ensemble piece. Christian Apolloni plays Ted’s friend Jacob. His easy-going nature and complacency to agree and admit fault where fault isn’t due is one of his main flaws as he’s on trial. Apolloni portrays this well in his expression and uncertainty when delivering his lines. Another friend of Ted is Robbie played by Lorenzo Ravida. Robbie is full of self-confidence and self-worth, putting others down to build himself up and Ravida will have you shaking your head and rolling your eyes with the conviction of what he says. He’s there to protect Ted, but only if he has something to gain. Then there’s Brodie, timid, shy and truthful to a point. During the trial he unintentionally exposes Ted while under oath. Adam Nguyen’s physical movements along with his sometimes shaking voice add a layer of defenselessness to the high intensity levels of the remaining ensemble, creating an added dimension. Mitchell is the final character in the mix of Ted’s recount. As Mitchell, Benedict Gbala in his short statement had me cheering on the inside. He came to Jess’ defense and then within seconds stopped to question his own words and change his story while his character both emotionally and physically slowly crippled knowing what he had done. The Sergeant (Paul Hennessey), Defense Lawyer (Brock Murray) and Prosecutor (Connor Watson) all contributed to the build-up of emotions throughout the trial via questioning, intimidation and interrogation – all portraying extremely strong characters in their own right. The minimal set and lighting were a bonus as to not distract from the information and story that was presented. And the bursts of sound and movement from the cast, which used the entire surrounds of The Parks Theatre set up, added to the layers of the story and characters. ‘Truth’ was presented by past and current students of Blackfriars Priory School under the direction of Bob Becker. It is a show tackling many current themes that the youth of today face daily and definitely one to look out for at this year’s Fringe. Rating: 4.5 stars (out of 5)