‘STAGE ONE’ is an initiative of the Theatre Arts course at Curtin University. Now in its 5th year, it offers Western Australian playwrights the opportunity to write and premiere a new play. It is then produced at the Blue Room Theatre, providing undergraduates with the acting and technical experience of working and exploring a new work.

Previous Curtin students, who have benefited from this perfect opportunity, include Frances O’Connor, Mandy McElhinney, Kate Atkinson, Clare Hooper, Kate Mulvany and Jess De Gouw.

This 70-minute dark unsettling play, with touches of black comedy, can be seen at The Blue Room Theatre, Perth Cultural Centre, Northbridge until Saturday 10^th December. Please check the performance times.

Alexander Gerrans set of Patrick Howe’s design, is a very convincing garage and store room. There are several very good weather and woodland effects. Lizzie Howard had some unusual and difficult props to acquire. The costume supervisors were Taylor Burtenshaw and Gemma Wilkie, who created realistic gore damaged clothes.

Joe Lui mentored both Noah Bateman with his realistic soundscape, and Kane Scriven’s wonderful mood lighting.

Stage Management ran smoothly thanks to Sally Davies and her deputy, Jack Wilson.

The whole production was overseen by Stephen Carr and Karen Cook.

The scene is today in the region of the NSW Blue Mountains.

     In the mountainous countryside is a Body Farm, this is where people who have left their bodies to science are left lying around in different soils and fluids so that pathologists can gather information on how quickly bodies decompose in different circumstances.

     When Anton died, his family found that he had left his body to the Farm; his sister (Jess Nyanda Moyle) is devastated that he did not have a proper funeral. One day at university, a girl with an angelic face and a nervous smile (Caitlin McFeat) approaches the sister, and gabbling away asks if she would like to join her church.

     In a nearby garage, owned by the aunt and uncle of #2 (Bianca Roose), is a group known as ‘The Family of the Book’ – who, for anonymity reasons, prefer to use numbers rather than names. Dressed in white forensic overalls are two threatening men #3 and #4 (Frazer Shepherdson, Sam Ireland). After painstaking planning, they have kidnapped the Body Farm’s caretaker (Ming Yang Lim) in order to gain access.

       A slightly dozy member of the group, #6 (Anna Lindstedt) arrives wearing non-standard ‘Family’ clothing. With her is the leader, #1 (Declan Brown) who, knowing that it won’t be long before the police arrive, decides to quickly move in on the Farm.

       After such planning and with God on their side, what could possibly go wrong?

The director and guiding light of this highly original play, is the multi award-winning actor and writer, Will O’Mahony; who on this occasion is assisted in the directing by Chelsea Gibson. The play has superbly observed and richly written characters. The action starts with humour and slowly works up to a gripping climax, followed by a scene that had the whole audience squirming.

The actors each knew their part in the story’s colourful jigsaw. Many very different parts working in perfect harmony. One small suggestion, when there is a great deal of shouting, either lower the voices down an octave, or speak more slowly – even in the wildest argument – as some of the diction was lost.

Adroit direction of a terrific script, involving an interesting set of characters and backed by clever technical skills. Strongly recommended, you will not have seen a play like this before.

This two-hour comedy is being presented by the Endeavour Theatre Company, now in its 25^th year, at the attractive, upgraded Hamersley Recreation Centre, Belvedere Road, Hamersley on Friday and Saturday nights at 8.00 pm until 21^st May. There is a Matinee on Sunday 15^th May at 2.30 pm.

Since my last visit the seating has cushions, the lighting rig is now ceiling mounted and the toilet facilities very smart.

The scene is the present day, in the lobby of a lakeside hotel in the south of England. At the rear of the lobby is set of patio doors leading to the garden. Darren Jones, John Orr and Toni Davies’ smart set received a worthy round of applause when the curtains opened. Stage managed by Lesley Pascoe.

The sound and lights were operated by Angelica Franz and Christine Evans.

        Hotel owners, lackadaisical Peter Fenton (Pete Hollings) and his conscientious wife, Jane (Sharon Jones) are really struggling to make the place pay. With very few visitors and no income, a visit from the bank’s credit manager, Ruth Bleach (Rosanna Baccala) was inevitable. However, there is a Pop Festival in the field down the road, perhaps that may help.

        Peter receives a ‘phone call booking the honeymoon suite for Mr and Mrs Jones, who is actually a pseudonym for Roger Crompton (Simon Magill) and his fancy woman; when one of Roger’s work colleagues arrives, panic ensues.

       Then the obliging, but slightly dim, Latvian maid, Saskia (Kerry Inkster) takes a booking from legendary pop star, Nathan Pond (Jarred Skeen) and his ‘hot’ personal assistant, Cassandra (Kristy Rowe) – who in order to avoid the fans, have also booked under the name of Mr and Mrs Jones. Mistaken identities abound.

       Policewoman, Wendy Primm (Penny Chambers) arrives to check the security for pop singer, Nathan as he has been stalked for years by aging fan, Daphne Flannel, even more misunderstandings happen.

       The guests’ rooms become confused as the clothes disappear.

The whole cast were filled with enthusiasm, drive, worked hard, played the risqué parts with aplomb, and acted well – however, and unfortunately it is a big ‘however’ – regrettably, the direction given was for the standard dramatic, acting style, which the cast did well.

But this was a well written farce, and so the dialogue delivery fell to pieces, and consequently many jokes just did not work. The chemistry between the characters did not really develop and so the dialogue did not flow. The result was the show’s pace suffered badly, and so it was about 40 minutes longer than it could have been. The prompt, Denise Morgan, fed the words surreptitiously but with 20 or more prompts this couldn’t be blamed on first night nerves – and I don’t think there were too many in any case.

Farce needs some of the following: – fast entrances and exits, with no strolling around. The dialogue to be spoken snappily, often with the actor half-stooped with panic and anxiety. The actors should be on the move almost constantly, frantic is the mood. The whole body should ‘bob and bow’ like a boxer in the ring, as the characters anticipate and avoid the next verbal deluge from another actor. I really felt sorry for the cast, as they gave the show everything, but it was a fine example of wrong genre chaos.

Finally, it was almost one and a half minutes from the closing of the curtains, to the curtain call. People were starting to stand to leave. 10 seconds maximum. I saw that pieces of furniture had to be moved, but with several men in the cast, this could have been done in seconds with correct allotment of tasks.

I know this show will improve rapidly, as the cast are dedicated. The audience saw how much work had gone into the performance and were MOST supportive. Good luck. Great fun.