After last year’s sold-out success with The Pitch, husband and wife team Peter Houghton (writer and this time the director) and Anne Browning (this time the performer) have come up with a satirical attack on politics and public relations as a follow-up piece.
Unfortunately The Pitch gave them a lot to live up to and any follow-up was going to suffer from comparisons.
Browning plays Bea Pontificis, a diplomatic consultant to an African dictator, who has direct lines to the US President and the UN. As the day’s events start to deteriorate we watch as she juggles multiple phone calls as a consultant and fields impending disasters at home.
The premise certainly has opportunities for both humour and character, but somehow none of the elements in this show reach their full potential.
The script does not allow the secondary characters to develop their nastiness sufficiently, nor does it allow its central character to shine. Whereas The Pitch gave audiences a lovable underdog to cheer, The China Incident delivers a character that is hard to care about.
The performance does not help, with Browning coming across as an actor “acting” out her lines rather than immersing herself in a character. She works hard at delivering, but the laughs don’t come easily.
The China Incident is mildly amusing and certainly does have some points to make about the public relations spin put on international political events, but unfortunately, does not live up to the talents of its creators.
Malthouse Theatre presents
The China Incident
by Peter Houghton
Venue: The CUB Malthouse | 113 Sturt St, Sth Melbourne
Dates: 19th Mar - 12th Apr
Times: Tue 7pm, Wed-Fr 7.30pm, Sat 8pm, Sat & Sun Mat 5pm, Thu Mat 2pm (no show Fri 21 & Sun 23 Mar)
Duration: 70 minutes
Tickets: Full $30, Conc $23, Group (10 or more) $26
Bookings: Ticketmaster 1300 660 013 | 03 9685 5111 & at the door