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Review: Allison Browning
SEVEN naked bodies, each in a stark white booth, are revealed
one by one, in harsh lighting and begin dressing.
This was the strong and very beautiful opening scene of Unidentified
Human Remains and the True Nature of Love, which followed
through in its presentation of a very relevant and engaging script.
'Male slut', David, lives with Candy. They each support and taunt
the other through the problems of being single and almost 30-years-old.
Candy is looking for love and gets more than she bargained for,
both at the gym and bar, and is left in some awkward and amusing
situations in dealing with whether it's penis or vagina she likes
best, or if it's all too hard.
David appears to be steadily sleeping his way through the male
population of Perth, and in the process, is dealing with the confusion
of his relationship with best friend, Bernie, and new 'friend'
and workmate, Kane.
In the midst of all this sex and relationship drama, there is
a serial killer on the loose, with female bodies being discovered
regularly. When David is confronted with a bloodied shirt and
a story that doesn't add up, all hell breaks loose. And who said
Perth wasn't an exciting place?
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Director, John Sheedy, made some bold choices, which were fully
supported by the cast.
The script demands a great deal of physicality in the close
relationships between all characters and the cast presented this
confidently.
Simmone Hurse and Gibson Nolte were dynamic and engaging as Candy
and David. They were strongly supported, at times, but this was
inconsistent, as many of the other characters were not fully developed
with dialogue seemingly only half understood at times.
One beautifully timed moment in this piece involved the use of
the different levels of the set, with David reliving a moment
of fucking a man against a tree, while Candy and Bernie reflected
on what was going on in their lives simultaneously.
It is a corker of a story and beautifully timed, with comedy
and tragedy perfectly balanced.
The set was stunning. Its simplicity in style and colour were
both functional, relevant symbolically, and perfect for this contemporary
piece. Unfortunately, this was let down with the sound operation,
which appeared not to have a fade out but more of and on and off
approach.
Perth is often stuck in a rut, re-hashing old classics in slightly
different ways.
Fraser has attempted to break up the boredom with this production.
Brad Fraser's script is refreshing; its bold, in your face and
about Perth.
l Unidentified Human Remains and
The True Nature of Love continues at Hayman Theatre, at Curtain
University, until March 20.
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