It’s a truth universally acknowledged, that a millennial in want of a house in Melbourne, needs help from the bank of mum and dad. And even then law school dropout Sophia has concocted a story about being engaged to her gay bestie, Geoff, I mean, Greg, in order to justify the very substantial deposit – to live in a fixer-upper apartment in outer Laverton South.
What starts
out as a satire on the housing market blossoms or, more accurately, metastasises
into farcical story of concrete cancer, self-portraits, denial, kitchen-sink dramas,
addiction to video games and a child learning to parent her parents. All set
against the very-specific backdrop of Melbourne 2020 and the worlds’ longest
lockdown/s (so far).
Lou Wall
takes centre stage as daughter, Sophia, who thinks she’s tricked her dad into
helping her into the housing market and gets stuck with her parents and Geoff,
I mean, Greg, during lockdown. Lou takes full command of the stage, which they barely
leave during the show’s chaotic 110 minute running time.
Lou’s
comedic talents are well-known from their solo shows, so it was so satisfying
to see them take the lead of the ensemble, dragging mum and dad and her fake fiancé
from one drama to the next, as the earth threatens to swallow them whole.
Playwright
Ross Mueller’s script is wild, for sure, but there’s some true heart and thoughtfulness
underneath the maelstrom of comedy rants and hilarious slapstick. There’s a lot
of great observational humour about familial relations that peek out on
occasion, grounding the shenanigans and suggesting a way for this strange
family to survive 2020 and the rest of their lives.
The
question is – will this family listen long to each other long enough? Or will
endless isolation lead them to self-destruction?
Sarah Sutherland’s
mum has perfected that well-to-do Briiiighton accent that us Melburnians are
all too familiar with. Joe Petruzzi’s dad has jumped from one scheme to another
all his life and thought that working in travel would be a stable career. Khisraw
Jones-Shukoor’s Greg is the outsider on the inside, able to see through the
family’s façade but unable to do anything about it.
The
ensemble whir around the stage in perfect comedic choreography, lamenting their
losses and struggling with what they have left. Mueller’s script occasionally
lifts – and re-writes – passages from well-known plays as if satirising the
well-made play itself, but this isn’t as sharp as when he cuts down the
characters for their middle-class ignorance and their nostalgia for material
things.
Director
Peter Houghton keeps all the pieces moving, running everything like clockwork. It’s
a real theatrical feat to keep a comedy moving this fast, risking the wheels
falling off and somehow they never do.
A Simple Act of Kindness is not simple. It’s smart, incisive on so many things political and personal, and truly hilarious.
It’s locked-down at Red Stitch until December 18th.
Keith Gow - Theatre First
Photos: Jodie Hutchinson
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