Described by Elaine as a “… funny, dark, imaginative take on a possible future,” ‘Water Wars’ has an underlying message of ‘think global, act local’ which has resonated with audiences. “The small steps of individuals may be the start of a great societal journey. Things we do today may ripple out and impact events and attitudes many years into the future.” Her inspiration was close to home, literally, with an incident with a neighbour planting the idea and triggering the writing process. “My mum has bad arthritis and at the height of Brisbane's drought, she had a note from her doctor which authorised her to hose her garden for 20 minutes, twice a week (instead of the compulsory bucketing everyone else was doing). One day a council water officer turned up and said that a neighbour had timed her hosing for 23 minutes (a grand total of three minutes over the allotted time) and thus reported her. I started wondering which neighbour had done that?  And why you wouldn't simply cross the road and give this little, frail woman a hand, instead of reporting her?” In retrospect and in a time where water flows much more freely, this action seems extreme and very un-neighbourly but it is the underlying currents and tensions that are still relevant and demonstrate common human hardwired responses.

A contemporary piece of theatre, ‘Water Wars’ is a multi-dimensional play which debates controversial and everyday issues whilst embracing a commitment to sustainable practice and production. La Boite Indie is a curated season of independent works, providing a space for the nurturing of theatre culture and cultivating new audiences. It is a fantastic opportunity for any ambitious creative with a vision and the team behind ‘Water Wars’ have definitely used it to their advantage. Motivated to promote sustainable theatre, all production members were united in their goals but each supporting in different ways. Lighting Designer David Walters worked tirelessly to construct and create a lighting system that was not wasteful yet still achieved the desired result. Using LED light sources rather than traditional lighting systems, ‘Water Wars’ has radically less power usage as a result. And Set Designer Penelope Challen’s mantra was “re-use, reduce and recycle” when constructing the set.

The play paints a scarily accurate portrait of a community on the brink of madness and neighbourhood wars, focusing on three different family units including a rich couple and an elderly woman living alone. Local actress Amber-Jade Salas steps into the role of Cal, a young boy whose honesty and directness illuminates the tension between the adults. One of her lines in the play refers to “the water wars”, which provides a beautifully simple link back to the premise of the story. Playing a much younger character can be a challenging task for an actor but Amber-Jade is relishing the demanding role, her face lighting up when speaking of Cal. As the voice of innocence, Amber-Jade’s Cal needs to be believable, creating a balancing act between naivety and child-like intuition. The result of playing such a role? The actress has “… become highly aware of the fragility of human relationships and how we can so easily become locked into reliving past events. People are obsessed with the future rather than focusing on who and what is important in their lives right now.” She points out the subtle analogy of water wastage and our general attitude to life – the loss of water and the fight to hold onto it, a conservation of life versus the conservation of water.

Both woman acknowledge the serious messages that run throughout the play, but are also hoping audiences enjoy the comedic moments too. Elaine nods in agreement and adds, “And also, the notion that the present is worth valuing for itself. Let’s aim to not be obsessed with a desire for the future, or driven by events in the past, but live now. Value the moment.”

‘Water Wars’ will run until August 20 at La Boite Theatre.