Theatre / “Hotel Sorrento’, by Hannie Rayson, directed by Alexandra Pelvin. At Canberra Rep Theatre until May 14. Reviewed by SIMONE PENKETHMAN.

“HOTEL Sorrento” is a snapshot of Australian culture just over 30 years ago. The plot revolves around three sisters, two of whom are ex-pats with successful careers while the third, Hilary (Victoria Tyrell Dixon) is a widow who lives in the family home at Sorrento, on the Mornington Peninsula, with her father and teenage son.

Sisters, Meg (Rachel Howard) and Pippa (Jess Waterhouse) visit Sorrento from England and New York respectively. Meg has written a novel that’s been nominated for the Booker Prize. She says that the novel is fiction, but critics and family read it as autobiography. There is tension between the sisters around the uncomfortable notion that Meg has written about events of which they cannot speak.

The play is essentially a series of conversations between characters in various static situations, but the dialogue is sharp, witty and entertaining and the performance tight and compelling.

Some characters verge on being mouthpieces for different points of view about feminism, politics and the misogyny of Australian culture. Rayson’s text accurately depicts the cultural cringe and tall-poppy syndrome that saw many 20th century Australian artists move to England to make their name. It also shows the derision of the English, regarding Australians as gauche colonials.

Michael Sparks’ set creates distinct spaces at a variety of levels and depths, providing a sense of movement that the dialogue-driven text lacks. He makes full use of the width of the theatre. The spacious set and thoughtful details in the design, such as the three ceramic ducks on the wall of the family home, effectively evoke the sleepy seaside town that hasn’t quite moved on from the ’50s.

The plot moves from comedy to tragedy. While the story revolves around the relationships and vexed history between the three sisters, the emotional core of the play is carried by Hilary and her son, Troy (Nick Dyball). Victoria Tyrell plays her part with quiet power and 17-year-old Dyball is outstanding in this role. We can look forward to seeing more of this skilled young local.

Hotel Sorrento is now considered a classic in Australian theatre. Director, Alexandra Pelvin writes that the play “explores the national pride that blossomed in the late ’80s”. While the ’80s may not seem that long ago, the culture depicted is vastly different, much whiter and surer of itself than the country, culture and world in which we live today.