TWO SHOWS
Open For
Inspection by Christopher Molyneux
My Life as a Dyke Too: The
Shequel by Nik Willmott and Rachel Forgasz
Midsumma
La Mama, Jan 21 to Feb 9, 2003
Reviewer: Kate
Herbert
The Midsumma Gay and
Lesbian Festival tosses out way al levels of performance. These shows are
examples of the good and the unsuccessful.
Open For
Inspection by Christopher Molyneux
is described ironically in the
program as "a tragical musical fable for theatre". What it is, in
fact, is fact is a confused concoction that never makes it as comedy.
The story is
incoherent and the style lacks cohesive. The writing is a mish-mash of pop
references, bad jokes and poor dialogue. Direction by the
writer Molyneux splits the stage by placing simultaneous scenes on two sides of
the space so we feel we are often watching a tennis match.
The actors do their
level best to commit to this play but it all looks wrong. It is intended to be
sexy but looks uncomfortable. The songs and music are poorly arranged.
Deirdre ( Kellie
Fernando) and Darren (Nathan McFie)
inspect a flat to rent. The apartment is riddled with weird people and events. There
are two Greek Gods, a woman in a lamp, another in the oven and a couple in the
fridge. Although this is all
revealed to be a drug-induced vision, it does not work as narrative.
At the other end of
the scale of success is My Life as a Dyke Too: The Shequel. This is a witty,
simple funny sketch show. Writer, Nik Willmott, developed the series of
vignettes with Rachel Forgasz.
They create a show
about lesbians that that does not alienate a heterosexual audience. Two outrageously
silly Toorak Road women reveal their ill-informed and idiotic bias about
lesbians.
A sober young lesbian drives to a
conference with a twittering work colleague in a recurring scene. A seductive university professor
lectures us on Lesbianism 201.
One particularly
funny sketch involves two lesbian flat mates discuss the prohibitive cost of
starting a relationship. Think of the gifts, flowers, dinners. Another parodies two
elderly women who insist, "We are not lesbians," even though they
kiss and sleep together.
The final parody of the
video clip of Madonna's song, Vogue, is very entertaining. See it to get the picture.
By Kate Herbert
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