'Away' - Michael Gow Analytical Essay/Performance Review (Revising the elements of drama - Human Context, Dramatic Tension, Space and Mood)

'Away' by Michael Gow is the intertwining journey of three ordinary yet very different families, as they stare directly in the face of adversity and hardship. Mimicking Shakespearean and Greek styles these journeys are soon transformed into spiritual quests whereby the characters ultimately are reborn and overcome their individual inner demons. Gow's prolific exploitation of dramatic tension, space and mood culminated to achieve dramatic meaning and an award winning performance. Gow expressed these creatively through …

…moving representation of the great Australian tradition of going away on a family holiday. Gow offers representations of a pilgrimage whereby characters journey from ignorance to knowledge; from blindness to insight. Away is essentially about coming home, to the same physical house but armed with a renewed sense of reality and changed outlook on life, essentially as soon as the characters arrive 'home' they embark on a new beginning brought about by their time 'away'.