CHANTAL ABITBOL
IT begs to reason why a California native who studied film in the movie capital of the world would choose to pursue his career overseas in Australia’s fledgling film industry. But for director Jonathan Wald, it appears to have given him an unlikely edge.
“For me as an artist, being in a foreign culture is often uncomfortable and can be very lonely, but it also gives me an enormous amount of insight into myself,” Wald, 39, told The AJN. ”I see my own background and culture through the eyes of people who may have a bit more objectivity about it. And I can do the same in reverse. I can see Australian culture from a very unique advantage.”
It all started eight years ago when the film masters graduate arrived in Australia on a scholarship grant to continue his studies at the Australian Film Television and Radio School, and never left. Slowly, but surely, he’s been leaving his mark on the Sydney theatre scene, directing more than a dozen plays — including Marie Ndiaye’s Hilda, which was selected to be remounted as part of the Seymour Centre’s Best Independent Theatre series.
In his latest production, Wald is directing acclaimed UK writer Philip Ridley’s Vincent River – currently playing at The Old Fitzroy Theatre — about a 35-year-old gay man murdered in a public toilet. His death eventually brings together Vincent’s mother, Anita, who had long resisted recognising her son’s homosexuality and 17-year-old Davey, who is haunted by the memory of finding his body.
Wald, who is gay, admits he was drawn to the project because of the characters’ mother-son dynamic, which slightly mirrored his own relationship with his mother, who also struggled with her son’s homosexuality early on. ”When I came out, she had some issues about it, even though she’s very liberal and knew a lot of gay people. She was really afraid that I wouldn’t be happy, which I think a lot of parents of gay kids fear. As a result, for a good five or eight years, we fought all the time,” he says candidly.
“It was never very explicit, these fights, but I think that’s what it was about … my feeling that she wasn’t accepting me. But we had to work [it out] in order to create a really strong relationship, which is what we have now. ”That’s what this play is about as well. It’s about acceptance, not just in terms of sexuality, but in how it’s important to accept ourselves, and other people, and to accept the feelings we have — even if they are painful and we don’t want to have them.”
Being Jewish has also played a part in his choice of material, he said. “Throughout my life, I have engaged in Jewish practices and themes in my work,” he says. ”In this play, these themes of guilt and acceptance … of looking at your past in order to gain insight into your present and to find a new way to move forward into the future, is a deeply Jewish practice.”
Surprisingly, Ward originally started out on the other side of the stage as an actor, but then decided it was too revealing. “Then somebody asked me to direct something and I loved it. Ironically, it’s equally revealing to direct.” But he says it has its payoffs. “I love pulling a team of people together to create a powerful and unified vision, which is something you do more as a director than an actor.”
Apart from the theatre gig, Ward has also been busy shooting and editing a series of single-take music videos of bands playing live in public places. For the time being, Ward says he sees himself honing his craft in Australia, but only time will tell what the future holds. ”On a purely professional level, it’s definitely a struggle here. There’s not as much work in theatre and in film as there would be in the US. Ultimately, whether I continue to stay here will depend on whether I can make the work that I want to make.”
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