Ruby Moon

Ruby Moon, a mysterious and eerie play written by Matt Cameron explores presentational theatre aspects and elements of absurdism.   After World War II, many people were questioning life. Was life really what it seemed to be? Was life meaningful? The war caused theatre practioners to question the life they were living. It opened up people’s eyes into seeing what man is capable of achieving. People started believing that life was monotonous and meaningless, and out of this, presentational theatre was born.   The play is a fractured fairytale, which challenges the traditional ‘happy ending’.   Cameron uses many elements to portray the ‘fairytale image’. “Ruby Moon is about a little girl who sets off to visit her grandma, just like a fairytale, but never arrives”. Through this, it shows that Cameron has used elements of other fairytales, but in a distorted manner which challenges the audience’s perception of ‘the perfect story’.   Something Cameron wants the audience to realise is that Australia suburbia is not what it seems. Besides the picture perfect scene we can picture, Cameron wanted to portray ‘Flaming Tree Grove’ as being “slice of David Lynch suburbia where a dark underbelly lurks beneath an idyllic, picture perfect veneer”. Cameron also involves the question of ‘How well do we know our neighbours, especially living in surburbia.’ “Who would you trust with your child?” Techniques such as symbolism, metaphors, lighting and sound can support his message of suburbia being the dangerous, eerie place that Cameron portrays it to be
Cameron’s ideas were based around the issue of child abduction in Australia. Azaria Chamberlain (born 11 June 1980 in Mount Isa, Queensland) was a nine-week-old Australian baby girl, who disappeared on the night of 17 August 1980 on a camping trip to Uluru with her family. Her body was never found. Her parents, Lindy and Michael Chamberlain reported that she had been taken from their tent by a dingo. Jane Nartare Beaumont, Arnna Kathleen... [continues]

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