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Waiting For Gotterson + Nothing Like Old Times |
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Written by Helen Barry
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Friday, 19 September 2008 |
 There’s nothing quite like a double bill of snappy one act plays to
whet your appetite for a night of theatre, and the Newtown’s latest
offerings Waiting For Gotterson and Nothing Like Old Times are tasty
little morsels indeed.
Waiting For Gotterson - which opens the night - is a clever mini play
inspired by that other rather famous play about waiting. It’s penned by
actor turned writer Sam Atwell who premiered it a couple of months ago
as part of the debut Short & Sweet One Act festival. The twist here
on Beckett’s original idea is that the two characters are actors who
are waiting for a famous director, Gotterson, to arrive. But the
waiting takes a strange turn when one mistakes the other for Gotterson.
It’s a strong and competent script, although there is some ambiguity in
the set up, but once it gets into the groove it hits some nice comic
notes. Unfortunately, it’s let down a bit by the stage direction which
feels stilted and ‘staged’. The characters seem rooted to the spot at
awkward angles for much of the proceedings which proves distracting to
the drama at times. There is also moments in the script, particularly
the ‘scene’ that the two actors perform that would benefit from a more
vigorous exploration of dramatic beats. It’s as if opportunities are
missed to really make the most of this fresh and fun material.
Producer/actor Nicola Furst who plays Julia provides a lovely dose of
neurotic physical comedy which tickles the audience’s funny bone, but
sadly Max Brown’s Trevor feels like he needs more fleshing out to give
him more ‘zing’.
Second on the bill is Malcolm Frawley, the Newtown Theatre manager’s
Nothing Like Old Times. This comedy about a school reunion gone wrong
is immensely entertaining and full of engaging characters. From the
brilliantly bitchy ‘princess’, Maddie (Alix Armstrong) to Nicola
Furst’s rip-snorting turn as the desperately horny Debbie, there’s a
lot to enjoy here.
The blokes turn in some nice performances too, most notably Toby Levins
as Leon, the mechanic with the mysterious past; and Nick Logan as the
deadpan loser Josh. In fact one audience member was so taken by Logan’s
beautiful comic timing that she couldn’t help but blurt out, ‘he’s so
cute’. Indeed…
There is only one downside to Nothing Like Old Times and that’s the
moments of boredom that the characters are forced to weather at
particular points in the script. Sometimes these occasions come
dangerously close to being boring in themselves. This is largely
because playing bored without being boring is an extraordinary skill,
and not one that is easy for any actor to master. But the lovingly
selected ’90s pop songs (Iain Triffit) keep things on an upbeat track
and give this piece a wonderful sense of nostalgia.
Waiting for Gotterson + Nothing Like Old Times
Venue: Newtown Theatre | Cnr King & Bray St Newtown
Dates: 16-27 Sept
Times: Tues - Sat 8pm
Tickets: $25 / $20 conc
Bookings: 1300 306 776 or www.mca-tix.com
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