The theatre now has a smarter entrance hall, a proper Bio Box, an improved lighting grid, cushioned bench seats, along with thickly insulated walls between the theatre and the rehearsal space next door.

The play is 65-minutes with no intermission. There are three performances, Friday 21^st August and Saturday 22^nd at 7.30 pm, with an extra matinee fitted in at 3.00 pm on the Saturday due to sell out evening performances. This leaves one wondering – Why are there so few Science Fiction plays?

 The scene (set design – John King) is a dimly lit laboratory, with a thermal awakener unit leading to the cryogenic area. There are computer screens controlling the authentic airlock doors (operator John Bailey). At the rear of the laboratory is the control centre, comprising a massive screen with never-ending computer jargon flowing and various technical boxes glowing. A hospital bed is at the side of the room.

Nick Morant operated John King, Tim Brain and Katie Southwell’s realistic and creepy lighting design. The whirring door noise was straight from space, super work by Ryan Partridge.

       The Esana Inc. cryonics facility is available to the public for hire. If for some reason you wish to be stored at icy temperatures until a future date, then for a fee this company will look after you. Seven very different people, who had signed up, are now being urgently awoken.

     First out of the chamber is James (Dean Lovatt), who has been in storage until a cure is found for his ‘delicate condition’. He checks the computer screen information, hoping to find the date, or even the decade! The airlock door buzzes and angry Hedy (Anna Weir) emerges, quickly followed by conman Matt (Aaron Jay) who looks very sick. Matt explains how he had arrived 10 years after Hedy had expected to depart – why had not she been woken up?

     Disabled Paula (Nicola Brescianini) and pregnant Tara (Bethsaida Tapsall) are both looking for some special medical treatment. The Transfer door buzzes and a happy, elderly man emerges, this is John (Ron Arthurs), who believes every day should be joyous. Seconds later Dr. Ettinger (Jason Dohle), the controller of the Unit, emerges. At last, there might be some good answers to the pandemonium and upset.

Writer / director Stephen Platt has skilfully created seven believable characters for his unusual story. So rare is this genre for the stage, that when I was trying to think of a play to compare it with, I was at a loss. In the last decade, I think this production has a unique style. The characters are well considered, filled with traits and attitudes that helped keep the story threads twisting. The storyline included all of the important elements, suspense, black comedy, straight slapstick, mild violence, tragedy and of course, love. The dialogue was a little thin near the beginning, but by the end, the interaction was crisp and the words matched the personalities well.

The costumes were simple grey, medical pathology suits with the company logo. John had a wild waistcoat (wardrobe – Ellin Sears, Denise Smith, Dean Lovatt). All of the inpatients had blue-flashing earpiece monitors – nice touch. Catherine Dunn dexterously created the hair and makeup.

Sci-Fi is not normally my favourite style, but I really enjoyed this play. It was so much more than being blinded by weird science; the storyline was solid, with a clever, unexpected ending.

To a nice bloke and a name to remember, good luck for the future Stephen B. Platt.

Unfortunately this hour long, fun show was presented for one night only at the Nexus Theatre off car park 3, Murdoch University, 90 South Street, Murdoch on Friday 14^th March at 7.00 pm.

All proceeds from ticketing and front of house were donated to Family Planning WA.

After a warm Box Office welcome from Sarsi Grace in a skimpy and sexy outfit, the show took place in the comfortable Nexus auditorium. The set, which was designed by Sam Knox, Scott McArdle and Sophie Benham, consisted of a pile of large cushions at one side, a settee on the other and with a large wooden bed, draped in red silk sheets and bras centre stage. The soft, warm selective lighting design by Scott McArdle was slickly operated by Sarah Bond. Scott’s sound design was operated by Bella Doyle. With stage management by Leah Toyne.

‘Tit for Tat’ acted by Kathleen Camacho.

          A young, large busted girl with a stunning décolletage describes her problem – her boobs, they are too big. Is small really beautiful?

Kathleen argued her point of body image with dry humour, whilst no doubt raising sympathy from half the audience. A fun performance, on a serious topic.

‘Never have I ever’ acted by Katherine O’Brien

        After listening to her friends, this young woman feels that she is missing out on life – she has never had an orgasm.

 Katherine chose a calm and logical approach to her delivery; this brought understanding and no doubt a few followers. A brave, well-written, sensitive piece by Katherine beautifully performed. Congratulations.

‘Hollywood is slowly ruining my life’ acted by Phillip Hutton

       A young man is finding that his girlfriend’s expectations of him as a partner, compared to that of the perfect looks, bodies and personalities of many movie stars, increases according to the films that they see together.

A very good delivery on an exceptionally well-researched topic. Plenty of laughs and hilariously presented.

‘An argument’ acted by Rachel Doulton and Tess Thompson

       A couple lesbian partners desperately want a child, but which one should bear the baby? Really, it should be the woman with the better gene pool.

Whoever thought that parent selection could be so difficult? A very sensitive topic that I had never considered before, this topic was handled beautifully, with arguments and love blended perfectly. Nice work.

‘Waiting’ acted by Kate O’Sullivan

      The young woman is getting older, but she has still decided to retain her virginity – is chastity a wise decision?

With peer power, it is hard to keep your standards. Kate gave an emotion-filled explanation of her frustrating circumstances. Thought provoking.

‘Between a cock and a hard place’ acted by James Hynson

        For a man who has ‘come out’ and tried his best to be accepted by society, to have the same old clichés and labels thrown at you can destroy your spirit.

A beautifully written piece, superbly presented with body and soul by James, certainly the most moving segment of the night. The emotion certainly came across to the audience, and possibly had us asking have we been guilty of the odd tasteless joke? We must all have been bullied at school, but when it comes into your adult life from well-meaning fools, it can hurt just as much. Outstanding.

‘A moment of Felicity’ acted by Katherine O’Brien

      This is a poetic (unwritten) expression of a woman’s love and adoration for her lover.

Katherine captured perfectly the feeling that so many get for their loved one, but are worried about the reaction should their lover know how deep the feeling actually is. Well done.

‘The Friendzone’ acted by Damian Long

       A couple sat on the settee enacting the tale of the storyteller. He explains that there is a delicate line between being a friend, a good friend and a sexual threat.

Damian felt a little uneasy as he described his problem of finding the ‘line that should not be crossed’. An unusual look at a situation that we have all found ourselves in as teenagers.

‘A real woman’ acted by Anna Weir

       A young girl finds that with cancer in the family genes that there is a chance she may never be able to have children.

A difficult subject to tackle, but with a genuine understanding of the topic and a most beautiful performance, Anna left the audience a little stunned. A short burst of silence at the end of such a performance is a compliment. Wonderful.

‘Hysteria’ acted by Kate Willoughby

       A young woman has heard of the joys of masturbation, but the thought of actually doing it is far from erotic.

Kate gave a wonderful performance as a young woman who is horrified at the thought that anyone could actually get pleasure from playing with the ‘squidgy bit’ between their legs. She held the audience in awe as she reeled off her total disbelief of this fun pastime. Lots of belly laughs at a brilliant handling of a delicate topic.

Producer James Hynson and his assistant, Katherine O’Brien have given us a wonderful and diverse set of situations, arranged in a perfect order that took us from laughs to pathos, from blatant to sympathy. I enjoyed this selection even more than the limited scope of the original ‘Vagina Monologues’. The writing styles varied from flippant to deeply serious, fun to heart wrenching. The courageous writing styles were perfectly selected for each of the moods and situations. The excellent Dramaturge by Anthony Smith gave a rich depth to each performance.

This is a delightful set of stories, highly recommended to any other fearless community theatre that is looking for something a little different.