The stage setting for all of the plays is a black backcloth and several pieces of well-chosen furniture. The lighting for all shows is by Jacob Anderson, the sound by Ryan Perrin.

‘Deadly Relations’ is the latest, 50-minute play written and directed by local lad, Bob Charteris. His plays are usually comedies, with this being his first mystery / thriller – but still with a few chuckles thrown in.

        A middle-aged man, Mr Owens (Alan Bascombe), is pouring himself a stiff drink as he and his secretary (Gael Campbell-Young) await news. The doctor (Alan Brock) has been called and is in the bedroom attending Owens’ dying wife. Soon the doctor announces the tragic news that Mrs Owens has passed away. The couple are stunned – the wife was so young.  

      No sooner had the doctor left, than the doorbell rang. It was a police inspector (Ron Arthurs) investigating a hit and run, a couple of weeks earlier.

     A few days later, just as Mr Owens is getting a little grieving time, a smartly dressed, officious woman (Lynda Hunt) arrives at the home.

 Bob has produced a fun script, with good dialogue. At the end of each scene of this quirky one-Act play, he throws in a surprise or red herring. The audience loved it.

‘Screaming Inside’ is a superbly written, 35-minute piece, by an accomplished writer, Sean Byrne. Directed by Sean Byrne and Jason Pearce.

        It is now some time since teenage Alison died, and her mother (Dale James) is drinking a little more than she should – to help her cope with her loss. She explains her feelings and the emptiness of her new life. She seems to get little compassion from her husband, who is more like a mute ornament in the corner of the room.

The story threads are well blended and the amount of skill involved is undeniable. Directing a 35-minute monologue is very difficult, as one tries to keep up the visual interest and find different tasks for the actor to perform, nevertheless, Sean and Jason Pearce have conquered this challenge.

The acting was first class, although with so much drapery around a little more voice projection would have been helpful.

Sadly, the final result was very heavy going with little light relief. You know when you ask someone how he or she is feeling and they then go on for 35 minutes, telling you in great and intimate detail every ailment known to man, ennui develops rapidly. I felt the same with this play.

A huge amount of talent, highly respected, plenty of admirable qualities – but with little likely public appeal. My eyelids drooped.

‘Stones’ is the second, 30-minute part of this pigeon pair for the above play. Another monologue, again written by gifted Sean Byrne, and directed by Sean Byrne and Jason Pearce.

       It is now the turn of the husband; Steven (Gino Cataldo), who, deep down has also been shattered by the death of his daughter. However, he is tackling the problems thrown at him with a very different approach.

Another fine performance, with the monologue cleverly written in a more masculine style. This contrasted perfectly with the mother’s sensitive and emotional approach.

Many of the comments for the last play are applicable to this one.

The first play of the trilogy was presented at Stirling Theatre, the second at The Old Mill and this final, 90-minute episode is now showing at KADS (Kalamunda Dramatic Society), Town Square Community Theatre, Kalamunda every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday night at 8.00 until 9^th August.

The exceptional set is of a carpeted corporate office, complete with water cooler, coffee trolley and several chairs. The walls are dove grey, with a royal blue feature wall showing the company’s logo. The set was solidly built and gave a very spacious appearance to the limited stage area. Set design was by Chris Ellis, who was aided in the décor by Karen Woodcock-Hall.

          The office door opens and the youngish, casually dressed facilitator, Jack Manning (Rhett Clarke) enters the meeting room of the charity organisation, ‘Enabling and Caring’. He arranges the chairs and just as he sits, two middle-aged women enter. They are frumpily dressed Amanda (Caroline McDonnell), Head of Programme Management, with her best friend and colleague, the project officer, Stella (Karen Woodcock-Hall).

        Feeling that they have been bullied and insulted at work, they have asked the Chairman of the Board, Brian (John Pomfret) for a conciliation meeting. Brian confirmed to the facilitator that his company was a charity, supporting intellectually disabled children and adults.

        When the old and supportive CEO left, the new ‘get-ahead’, perfectly groomed female CEO, Bridget (Gael Campbell-Young), replaced him. She is attending the meeting with her young clique, marketing manager Guilia (Kristen Twynam-Perkins) and young Cassie (Kassandra Smith) who has just taken over as financial controller from Amanda.

       As Jack settles down to interviewing the group, he nibbles away at the various versions of what has gone on, confirming various points with the company’s HR specialist, Tamsyn (Natalie Aung Tan).

Do the two women really have a genuine case of bullying? Or are they just jealous of the new CEO and her daring and exciting new ideas?

This topic is very much in the news, with legal cases almost every day for various forms of bullying and sexual harassment.

The cast were all very strong, but the two main characters, Amanda and Bridget were outstanding. The actors who played them were both very new to the stage; Caroline captured the withdrawn and nervous Amanda perfectly. It is hard to believe that Gael has only been acting for a few months. She had a major part with a complex character, yet the dialogue flowed naturally and with all the correct body movements and expressions. The audience could be heard to gasp on several occasions and the truth was revealed.

The director, Christine Ellis, took over the third part of the trilogy from her son. Brendan did an amazing job directing the first two parts. The direction called for real, in-depth character studies for each actor, with their lines being delivered with subtlety. The cast melded beautifully.

A little bit of a hike to Kalamunda, but well worth the trip. An excellent show, great script and terrific performances. Try and catch it before it goes.