Written and co-directed by Benjamin Nichol, a rising star of Melbourne theatre who established himself with Kerosene and Sirens, Milk and Blood show how a lone actor in a bare space can deliver raw, powerful drama.

Presented in a double bill, Nichol’s scripts have no poetic pretensions or earth-shattering statements. Instead they capture the imagination with emotional insight and intelligent construction, and the performances of Brigid Gallacher and Charles Purcell who also co-direct Milk and Blood respectively.

Milk is about a single mother who makes weekly visits to her 19-year-old son, who she believes has been wrongly imprisoned for violent sex crimes.

This unnamed woman finds it difficult to love her younger son by another father. She also has a difficult relationship with her mother, but is buoyed by a new friend and new lover.

Brigid Gallacher in Milk. Photo © Sara Walker

Pieces of the past are gradually revealed in this increasingly fascinating story about self-denial, unspoken violence and an intense need for love. It’s subtly done, making the final minutes unsettling, even shocking, and probably leaving many in the audience still working out some final pieces of the puzzle afterwards.

Seen earlier...