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Left - Brian Lipson, Benedict Hardie and Greg Stone. Cover - Robert Menzies and Greg Stone. Photos - Jeff Busby

There are several scenes in Life Without Me when Diedre Rubenstein's character, Alice, utters the sentence, "la salle des pas perdus". Though in French, the sentence refers to ‘waiting room’, for characters in the play, the utterance rings a metaphorical truth to their feelings of being stuck somewhere and nowhere - lost between two places.

The world premier of multi award-winning playwright, Daniel Keene’s Life Without Me showing at this year’s Melbourne Arts Festival, follows the lives of seven wonderfully endearing characters, who watch as their lives go on without them. By some twist of fate (or for Greg Stone’s character, a strong gust of wind), these lost souls find themselves in a shabby, long forgotten hotel in a small town where the service is bad, the food comes out burnt and the rooms sub-par. Yet, after several attempts to leave the hotel, none of them seem able to move on, bound by their unresolved issues, some might never leave or think they ever can. But like in the final scene of The Wizard of Oz when Glinda tells Dorothy that she could have always gone home, this too, may be true for the characters of Life Without Me.

This is a magnificently cohesive and harmonious production where everything, from the remarkably witty script, to the top notch performances and the detailed set, comes together to produce a just about near perfect show. Realism is the tone for the set. Created by Dale Ferguson, a wonderful exact replica of a hotel lobby acts as the meeting place (or la salle des pas perdus) and frames the sterility of the characters’ lives.

But it is Keene’s extraordinarily insightful, humourous yet empathetic script that breathes life into each character, making all seven a memorable personality of their own. Each comes with their own quirks and issues - whether it is loneliness, boredom, or low self-esteem – they are people who are stuck in a rut, unsure of what they want, and subsequently make ideal and fascinating subjects to explore.

Life Without Me perfectly balances both heart and humour. Tied into the dialogue, which is reminiscent of the dynamism of Monty Python – witty, clever and sometimes gloriously infuriating – is a poignancy that deals with the desolate nature of the human condition with great insightfulness.


Melbourne Theatre Company presents
Life Without Me
by Daniel Keene

Part of the 2010 Melbourne International Arts Festival

Director Peter Evans

Venue: MTC Theatre, Sumner
Dates: 9 October – 21 November 2010
Tickets: $42.55 -$83.15 (Under 30s $30)
Bookings: MTC Box Office (03) 8688 0900 | mtc.com.au