“Neighbours, everybody needs good neighbours”, so begins the chirpy refrain of the quintessential Aussie soap that peeks over the suburban fence and into the lives of the folk who live in Ramsay street. Mick
Barnes’ Unit 46 tackles the same subject of the strangers we live in close proximity to, but from a decidedly different angle. Barnes’ neighbours, unlike their house-proud TV counterparts, are two apartment dwellers trapped in a living hell. The middle-aged man who occupies the upstairs flat and prefers the anonymity of being known only as “Unit 46” (Leof Kingsford-Smith) is an anal, obsessive-compulsive loner who tries to break up the monotony of his dreary existence by using a dartboard to decide what’s for dinner. Meanwhile, Diane (Lucy Miller), who lives downstairs in unit 36, is an amorous, alcoholic divorcee who is both on the verge of 40, and it seems, a probable nervous breakdown. The pair engage in an antagonistic correspondence via notes they slip underneath each others doors, never speaking face to face. She’s annoyed at the inappropriate way he disposes of his garbage, while he’s furious about her nosy preoccupation with his affairs. Through the course of the play they bicker and wonder about each other, stuck inside their own four walls, never truly understanding where the other is really coming from.
All of this sounds like fertile ground for comedy. It’s a lovely set up, with carefully considered characters that are well observed, and as the play progresses there is a nice sense that this pair have much more in common than it first appears. And yet, all of this nuance is weighed down by ponderous slabs of dialogue which see the actors wrestling with intense soliloquies full of references to Greek mythology and lofty dead poets. Although it’s true that the line between comedy and tragedy can be thin, here they are world’s apart. Miller and Kingsford-Smith do their best to inject the proceedings with the required enthusiasm, but unfortunately they are fighting a difficult battle with this material. The proceedings are not helped by the fact that the actors are seemingly unable to break the fourth wall and connect with the audience. Something that I believe would be an appropriate directorial choice seeing they can’t actually speak to each other because of the spatial divide. Instead, they deliver their lines at the audience rather than to them, which makes them come across as two people in a kind of crazed state of delirium, where they are simply talking to themselves. Perhaps, if they were allowed to connect directly with us in a similar manner to stand-up comedians then we might feel more comfortable at seeing the humour in their miserable plight.
After its run at The Factory, Unit 46 is Edinburgh bound, and I am optimistic that with some minor tweaks this play could still find its feet. However, if that’s going to happen, I think that the company needs to take a closer look at ironing out the kinks that are at the moment preventing this play from hitting its comic stride.
UNIT 46
by Mick Barnes
Director Andrew Doyle
Venue: The Fuse Box @ The Factory | 105 Victoria Rd, Enmore NSW
Dates: 25th June – 19th July
Performances: Wednesday – Saturday 8pm. Matinee Sunday 5pm
Tickets: Full $28, Concession $25
Bookings: (02) 9550 3666 | www.factorytheatre.com.au
Visit: www.unit46.com.au
