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After its Glen Street season, Walking by Apple Tree Creek tours to Victoria:

§ Whitehorse Performing Arts Centre, Whitehorse — 15–16 Jun.

§ Frankston Arts Centre, Frankston — 17–18 Jun.

§ Mechanics Institute, Williamstown — 19–20 Jun.

§ Arts Centre, Warragul — 23 Jun.

POSTED: 05 JUNE 2009

Walking by Apple Tree Creek, by Ian Brown

(La Boite Theatre Company | Glen Street Theatre, Belrose, Sydney | Until 13 June)

Grey nomad. This half-affectionate, occasionally dismissive term immediately conjures up scenes of retired couples with their worldly belongings jammed into a caravan or Winnebago, trundling from place to place across the land.

Ian Brown’s Walking By Apple Tree Creek is a funny, fond and occasionally painful glance into the lives behind the caravan door. It is also one of the most surprising and brave two-handers I have seen in recent memory.

Unexpectedly halted in their Grand Tour of the Big Things — the Big Prawn in Ballina, The Big Snake in Ayr, The Big Avocado, to name a few — Del (Carol Burns) and Stan (Bob Newman) pause in their travels in the small town where they began.

Ordinarily, naturally, revisiting somewhere from one’s youth would bring forth reminiscences. In this instance, desperation creeps into the memories as Del battles to break through Stan’s silence.

Both actors portray their characters with credibility and compassion ... it’s just that one of them utters not a single word.

Del recollects their courtship, working lives, children and grandchildren, punctuated with dry humour and poignant, often tender moments. Carol Burns’ Del is skilfully balanced — powerful and vulnerable, bitter and gentle.

Bob Newman’s Stan is similarly astonishing in his portrayal. In his case, a facial expression is truly worth a thousand words.

A simple set, with marvellous props (who knew you could still find a tyre swan?!) and spot-on sound perfectly complement this very Australian story.

When Del and Stan were young, “walking by Apple Tree Creek” was euphemistic in the same vein as going to watch the submarine races — and taking such a stroll could see a young girl up another creek without a paddle, so to speak.

Walking By Apple Tree Creek evokes a bygone era that does not always glow with a rosy hue. And the next time I see a Winnebago lumber by, I’ll think a bit more carefully about the stories within.