Every family has a secret… but what happens when that secret comes to the table and bonds are tested?
Writer and director Elisa Williams brings her latest work, Five Minutes to Midnight, to the Blue Room Theatre, a production that asks, “What would you sacrifice for your mother?”
Inspired by how we care for those we love and the pressures that can place on familial dynamics, the show stars renowned Perth actor Caitlin Beresford-Ord at its centre, playing Sarah Eves, a physicist and proud mother of four.
In the midst of the rehearsal process, Caitlin and Elisa shared their thoughts on the show and the themes it explores.
Five Minutes to Midnight poses the question: How much is too much to ask of the ones we love? Where does this question come from and what spurred you to create this show?
Elisa: For me, the play is really about how we care for the people we love, particularly our parents, and how willing they are to accept that care in return. It’s about family, responsibility, and what happens when the people closest to us don’t agree on what’s best.
I wrote the play after spending several years caring for family members and watching people navigate illness, ageing and change. Those experiences often brought families together, but they also brought stress, grief and disagreement. Even when everyone is acting out of love, people can have very different ideas about what should happen next.
The play unfolds in real time, so the audience almost becomes another guest at the table. I wanted people to experience the uncertainty, humour, tension and difficult conversations alongside the family, rather than be told what to think. Ultimately, it’s a play about love, choice, and the difficult decisions families face when life changes unexpectedly.
Writer and Director Elisa Williams
What inspired you to write this play?
Elisa: Like many people at this stage of life, I’ve spent the last few years caring for family members and sitting around family tables trying to work through difficult decisions.
What interested me was the tension that exists in those moments. A family crisis might bring everyone together, but life doesn’t stop. Old sibling dynamics are still there, relationships are still complicated, and people often have very different ideas about what the right thing to do is.
I was also interested in turning the focus back onto the parent. We often hear stories about adult children making decisions for ageing parents, but I wanted to explore what happens when a parent asserts their own agency and asks their children to accept a decision that’s already been made. What if the decision is incredibly brutal and difficult to accept?
At the centre of the play is Sarah, a physicist, a single mother and a survivor. She’s intelligent, resilient and deeply independent. Faced with a serious illness, she’s determined to retain ownership of her life and her choices. Through Sarah, I wanted to explore ideas of ageing, autonomy and dignity through the eyes of someone who is strong rather than powerless.
Ultimately, the play asks what care really looks like, whether love can coexist with disagreement, and how families navigate the space between holding on and letting go.
Image by Alexander Franklin
You’re joined by a West Australian ensemble and production team, why is it important to you to have local talent onboard?
Elisa: It’s incredibly important to me that this production is led by a Western Australian cast and creative team. I was born and raised in Perth, trained in Victoria, and spent many years working interstate and overseas before returning home. Coming back gave me an even deeper appreciation for the talent we have here.
Through my work at WAAPA I’ve seen so many extraordinary Western Australian artists emerge, and I’m constantly inspired by the quality of work being created across the state. We have an incredibly rich community of actors, writers, directors and theatre-makers.
Image by Alexander Franklin
What spoke to you about this script and the character Sarah Eves?
Caitlin: What I love about Sarah is her strength, her humour, her capacity for self-determination and her boundless love for the people around her. And I think the script itself has love and life at its core – that’s the beating heart of it.
Take us into the rehearsal room, what has the process been like so far and what have you uncovered about your character as you start to bring her to life?
Caitlin: The rehearsal process has been one of intense investigation and discovery – which I love. I’m so appreciative of the opportunity to nut things out, to challenge and be challenged. I love that I’m getting to work with some of my ex-students from WAAPA; they bring fresh perspectives and immense energy.
What I’m uncovering about Sarah are her flaws, and these are essential to uncovering her humanity. That’s what we connect to in theatre, I feel. Not what is ‘likeable’, but what is complicated, ambiguous and real.
What do you enjoy about exploring new works as an actor?
Caitlin: I’ve always loved the challenge of this. A new work is a completely undiscovered landscape; there are no reference points, no ‘seminal productions’, no ‘big shoes to fill’. There’s just us; the writer/director, designers and cast and our combined curiosity about what this world might reveal.
Can you describe the play in 5 words?
Caitlin: Probably not but I’ll try!
Life-affirming
Challenging
Questioning
Intriguing
(Sorry, that’s only 4!)
Elisa: A mother’s choice, a family’s reckoning.
Five Minutes to Midnight is on at The Blue Room Theatre from 8th-24th October