‘Gasp’ is a joint presentation from the Black Swan State Theatre Company and Queensland Theatre Company. This two-hour ten minute, dark humour production can be seen at the Heath Ledger Theatre, State Theatre Centre of WA, 182 William Street, Northbridge each evening at 7.30 until Sunday 9^th November. The production then travels to Queensland.

The set is a large modern office, with high ceiling and shiny floor, painted to match the very pale grey walls. The rear of the room has a massive window overlooking the city. This window with ingenious projection (projection AV designers, Optikal Bloc) turns into numerous styles and venues, including wallpaper, curtains, plants, and security blinds.

The set and costume designer, Christina Smith and her associate, Penny Challen, have come up with something that I have not seen before. The slick scene changes seem to take place with the aid of a travelator (like the moving pavements in airports). Then there was the ‘fan’tastic wall. Very clever designing.

       When the heartless mercenary, Australian mining company boss, Chifley Lockheart (Greg McNeill) announces to his team that his mining business is running out of resources, they must come up with a completely new idea to save the company.

      No new ideas seem to be forthcoming until the junior executive, caring wimpish Phillip (Damon Lockwood) is called to the hospital bedside of his shy, rather plain girlfriend, Peggy (Lucy Goleby). Severely ill, she is on oxygen and really struggling with asthma due to the air pollution. Phillip suddenly realises that ‘designer air’ could be the answer. Clean filtered oxygen, stored until you need it.

      When Phillip takes the suggestion to the boardroom, the supercilious senior executive, the answer to every girl’s sexual prayer, Sandy (Steven Rooke) mocks Phillip. However, Chifley takes the fresh air idea to his head of marketing, the ambitious ball-breaker, Kirsten (Caroline Brazier). NOTHING will stop Kirsten and her ambitions.

     Can Kirsten do anything with the original idea? Can the company make money from such a simple commodity?

Director, Wesley Enoch and his associate, Daniel Evans have chosen the perfect cast for this madcap humour. Very few directors would have been capable of seeking out the humour in every line, and then showing the cast how to squeeze the most out of the absurdity.

Damon Lockwood, who recently proved himself in ‘Laughter on the 23rd Floor’, once more excels. Damon’s style of delivery is wonderful, he can look like a lost child and seconds later be giving a bold complex recitation.

Major Equity Award winner, Greg McNeill, has been admired over the years for his straight dramatic acting, but here he gives us a new side to his talents, wacky comedy. Not just a simple joke or aside here and there, but Greg has the special skill that Groucho Marx comedy demanded and Ben Elton’s characters require, a dry bold delivery, with precise dialogue. Queensland’s award winning actor, Steven Rooke is a new face to WA, but his chemistry with the other actors was superb. Caroline Brazier’s delivery was pan faced, but extremely funny as the ambitious bitch. Lucy Goleby’s soft, loving part brought the much-needed respite from the rich, rapid-fire lines of the comics. A great team.

The lighting design by Trent Suidgeest was electrifying and dramatic. With the set designers, he convincingly turned one venue into another within seconds. The sound design by Tony Brumpton was at its best on the office lockdown – superb.

Leave your political correctness at the theatre door, and enjoy the zany, fast-paced humour in the style of Elton’s ‘Blackadder’ that we all loved so much. No political party or famous executive is safe as Elton peels off the bulls*** and gets straight to the point. Satire is often subtle; here the writer just nails ‘the establishment’ to the wall. The script will leave you asking ‘did he really say that?’, but you will only pause for a second before the next onslaught of laugh aloud comedy hits you. A theatre master showing us that he still has his touch.

This wonderfully zany play can be seen at the Old Mill Theatre, on the corner of Mends Street and Mill Point Road in South Perth. The two and a half-hour performances are nightly at 8.00 until Saturday 11^th October. There are two matinees, one on Saturday the other on Sunday. Part of the proceeds will go to Telethon 2014.

George Boyd’s magnificent set designs, (here built by George, Liam Kirwan, and Brendan Tobin) always seem to leave other theatrical groups behind when it comes to innovation. For this show, we have two revolving stages, surely a first in Perth for both Community and Professional Theatre.

There are no fewer than nine sets! Including a kitchen, theatre, the Prince’s Chambers, coffee shoppe, dining room, stagecoach, a leafy copse, Amy Hardwood’s room, and a colonnade. Adrian Ashman’s décor painting is immaculate and when coupled with Lesley Sutton’s well-sourced unusual props, most realistic.

The stage crew of David Seman and Owen Davis, under the supervision of stage manager Rob Warner, were amazingly efficient with their numerous complicated scene changes. In between scenes, they had to silently work on décor modifications ready for the next stage revolve. Congratulations on the efficiency and silence.

        It is the Regency Period in England, around 1815, and we find ourselves at the theatre with the mad Prince Regent, the foppish Prince of Wales (Rodney van Groningen) who is soon to become George lV – as soon as his even madder father, George lll (Brendan Tobin) dies. George is watching a production of ‘Julius Caesar’, but is relying upon his head butler, Blackadder ((Joe Isaia) to explain the storyline. When Brutus (David Gregory) stabs Caesar (Michael Lamont) the butler has to explain the difference between reality and acting, to the distressed Prince who thinks he has just witnessed a REAL murder.

        Blackadder is frustrated by the fact that such a brainless idiot should have so much wealth, and sets out to relieve the Prince Regent of some of his wealth. As always, Blackadder relies upon the help of his filthy dogsbody, Baldrick (Keith Scrivens) to achieve his ambitions. With more money, Blackadder could perhaps gain the love of the Coffee Shoppe owner, Mrs Miggins (Jacqui Weaver).

        Perhaps Blackadder can find a wealthy wife for the Prince; there is the beautiful but mentally immature, Amy Hardwood (Clare Fazackerley Wood) perhaps she would make a perfect suitor; or perhaps Sally Cheapside (Natalie Watson), as she has a daft, rich father.

        In this tale, Blackadder faces world leaders and famous authors in his pursuit of wealth.

Director David Gregory again leads this wonderful team. David manages to squeeze every ounce of humour from the situations. With the unique strange dialogue of Baldrick, to the cutting tongue of Blackadder, the gushing foppishness of Prince George – along with his demanding athletic performance – the laughs flowed endlessly.

This was the opening night and the techies, lighting (Liam Kirwan) and sound (George Boyd) cue card must have looked like a Harry Potter novel with the dozens of cues, many of which had to be carried out with split second accuracy. There were literally a couple of dozen different scenes, which on TV could be easily edited, but on stage, the actors have to move from one set to another. An audience can accept looking at an empty, lit set waiting for the actor to enter, but to sit in the dark until the actor is perfectly in place before putting on the lamps definitely slows the flow of the comedy. This results in the poor actors having to warm up the audience at the beginning of every scene. The techies were really superb, but just that little bit earlier with the lighting would help.

If you are a fan of the TV series, this truly magnificent cast give their all and the characters instantly recognisable. If you are too young to know the series, then go along and see a madcap production presented perfectly.

This whole production oozes quality, from the tickets, the best programme I have ever seen for a community production, the fine scenery, Clare Wood and Jacqui Warner’s stunning costumes and last but not least, the action packed, perfectly paced acting – great chemistry. An excellent show.

I do not need to say ‘See it’ as most people will have booked already. Be warned, the tickets are selling faster than last year – and it was a sell-out.