Theatre review: Letters to Lindy at the Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre

Letters to Lindy is a rather extraordinary play. Writer Alana Valentine has used some of the thousands of letters that were sent to Lindy Chamberlain following the disappearance in 1980 of her baby daughter Azaria at what was then called Ayer's Rock. She has crafted them into a powerful dialogue between Lindy (Jeanette Cronin) and what can only be described as public opinion.

That public opinion was organised and filed by Lindy over the years that included her conviction for murder, time in prison, separation from her family, the conviction overturned, divorce, remarriage and a never-ending grief. It now sits in the National Library of Australia, but in this play it appears on stage, in many cardboard boxes, on a slightly surreal set by James Browne that suggests the ordinariness of a suburban home.

That public opinion ranged from those who thought Lindy had murdered her daughter to those who were convinced that, as Lindy said, a dingo had taken her baby. Valentine's script does not shy away from the abusive, nor from the dingo jokes that were rampant at the time and the first flurry of excerpts from the collection are a shock. They are hurled at Cronin's Lindy by the other three cast members who deftly and expertly take on a string of other characters, male and female, throughout the play.

Cronin remains always at the centre, changing clothes and hair to fit the times, talking to the audience about her feelings and reactions and perceptions. There's a tremendous humour here but there is no mistaking the forces and prejudices ranged against the woman. Her religion is seen as a cult and the death as a sacrifice. Indigenous voices confirming the actions of dingoes are ignored. She is blamed for a stony-faced response to the loss, which must mean she is guilty, since according to stereotype an innocent properly grieving woman would cry.

It's essentially a monologue but the narrative is frequently interrupted by the voices of those who wrote the letters. Jane Phegan, Phillip Hinton and Glenn Hazeldine embody these voices, from those who hope she fries in hell to those who offer comfort. They are old, young, sane and crazy and the actors respond to the changes demanded by the script with swift skill. The reactions of Lindy's son Reagan (Hazeldine) to the furore are done particularly well.

It's a tense and very moving couple of hours with a story that is not a comfortable one, especially for those who are old enough to remember the often savage reactions to these events. And the play never forgets that at the centre is the death of a child. See it if you can.