Sunday 3 August 1997

These Foolish Things & Trapped, La Mama, Aug 3, 1997


These Foolish Things by One Toe & Trapped by Trudy Hellier
at La Mama Thursday July 31, 1997
Reviewed by Kate Herbert around Aug 1, 1997

Pub. Herald Sun – Alison Barclay
 
The second evening of La Mama's Birthday Theatre marathon was a double bill. The more successful of the two was Trapped by Trudy Hellier (from Frontline) a slick half-hour script with a clever plot and witty dialogue.

A young woman (Hellier) finds a new flat mate (Sally Cooper) for her house that has a fabulous view - of Pentridge and its inmates. The two women develop a strange mutual obsession with their two special convicts who take turns to view the women's ordinary daily activities and fantasise.

The old hand crim (Marcus Eyre) has wangled a new cellmate (Jerome Pride) who is an explosives expert. He is planning an escape to be with his fantasy girl while his bomber pal gets hooked on the new gal next door. She, in turn, eventually does not leave the house at all, in case he misses her.

This is a quirky narrative with well-observed and economical dialogue. In spite of being a reading rather than a full production, the performances by all four actors were uniformly strong. The slight adjustment in the twist at the end in this draft of the script is much more effective than the earlier version.

These Foolish Things is light entertainment that works in part because of the naivete of its style. A man has sneaked into his ex-wife's apartment to check if she has kept mementos of their life together. When she finds him they relive moments.

The two animate funny little objects, toys and memorabilia - their 'foolish things' -to tell their story. One funny scene is the toy suicide. Teddy teeters on the edge of a table then dives. A Banana in Pyjamas totters off after him followed by Barbie. A crowd of tiny footy trophies cheers.

A suburban-style slide show of their travels draws us in while we share chips and anecdotes with them.

 There are problems with an incohesive structure and a confusion of styles. The naturalistic and serious relationship form does not gel with the other more successful and wacky style and, for most of the piece, the actors remain trapped behind a table cluttered with paraphernalia.

There is a gaucheness and charm about this show's unadorned amateurism. The form and style may be scrappy and the performance level limited, but it is sweet and fun.

KATE HERBERT 

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