Melbourne Reviews

Photos - Jodie Hutchinson

Lobby Hero by Kenneth Lonergan is a character-driven dramatic comedy which lets you laugh as its characters struggle with the moral dilemmas of right and wrong.

Jeff (Tim Potter) is the security guard (the ‘Lobby Hero’) of a Manhattan apartment. He is a chatty cheeky young man, with a nervous innocence. He is thrown into a situation out of his depth when his boss, Captain William (Christopher Kirby), tells him about his brother’s possible involvement in a brutal murder.

Lonergan’s script is successful for its strong character focus. Jeff, William, and the two cops, Bill (Daniel Frederiksen), and Dawn (Eryn-Jean Norvill) are intriguing individuals that spark and light-up as they interact. There are some wonderful moments of dialogue and interaction – the flirtatious vignette between Bill and Dawn, and Jeff’s pick-up-line-like lowering of his swivel chair as he moves closer to his real-life fantasy female cop.  These moments veiled some of Lonergan’s over-written over-wordy chunks of text, and tempered the moral and ethical dilemmas of the play with a much-needed light touch (sustained by Denis Moore’s measured direction).

The performances, as always at Red Stitch, brought the script, its story and its characters, to life, against Shaun Gurton’s stark set design. Potter, Kirby, Frederiksen, and Norvill each performed with great nuance, allowing their characters to emerge from the black and white of the set in brilliant colour.


Red Stitch Actors Theatre
Lobby Hero
by Kenneth Lonergan

Directed by Denis Moore

Venue: Red Stitch Actors Theatre, rear 2 Chapel St, St Kilda East (opp Astor)
Dates/Times: Wednesday 10 June – Saturday 11 July at 8pm (Sundays at 6.30pm)
Tickets: $20 - $34
Bookings: www.redstitch.net (discounted tix) or on 03 9533 8083