I
hadn't been to the Tap Gallery before so I took my mum along as my date and
buffer of social awkwardness. The place is cool - some art to look at, drinks and canapes and
an air of 'relaxed hipster' about it.
This
piece sits really nicely in this gallery setting, the show is a comedy - a
mixture of absurdist scenes and monologues exploring masculinity, mythos and
'the big funk': a movement that has stifled humanity, caused by our inability to
acknowledge our fear, our mortality or our nakedness. All of this driven home
with a monster monologue, delivered (with great conviction, I might add) by
Jasper Garner-Gore.
The
play is an ensemble piece, and this ensemble was strong. Jess Loudon, who plays
Fifi, and Michael Drysdale, who plays her husband, Omar, share a great
chemistry which results in a lot of laughs, and some of the best comedy lies in
a cafe scene between Gregory, played by Bali Padda, and Jill, played by
Alixandra Kupcik - they both really hit gold here.
The set was nice and simple, white walls and
floor in a little open space, not separated from the gallery. Red tape marks
broke up the floor space delineating where set pieces, and sometimes humans,
were placed. One of the more memorable scenes involves a bathtub - it's nothing
too fancy, a fibreglass tub in a purpose-built wooden frame on wheels. But it's
what happens in the tub that defines this scene: Austin (Garner-Gore), bathes
Jill (Kupcik) “like an innocent child” and she is cleansed, in both literal and
figurative senses. It's the centrepiece of the play and it was handled with
great delicacy and warmth by director, Michael Dean. Thumbs up.
The
Big Funk runs 11 March - 21 March; previews 11 and 12 March. Mon-Sat 8pm, Sun 6pm
@ The Tap Gallery, Darlinghurst.
I thought T G was closed for theatre performances due to fire safety problems.
ReplyDeleteI think the downstairs space is still operational.
DeleteI would like to say that this blog really convinced me to do it! Thanks, very good post. Jason Aldean Tickets
ReplyDelete