Sydney Reviews

In the boardroom-centred world of Under Ice there is no love, only productivity. Paul Niemand (Terry Serio) has always felt pressured by others. The expectations of firstly his family then the unnamed company in the form of colleagues Charlie Sunshine (Jason Langely) and Aurelius Glasnip (Adam Booth) leave him feeling trapped. Ice is a running metaphor that is skilfully woven through the play.

Under Ice is a play delivered in a series of speeches that vary in style from the poetic to the absurd and sometimes both. The three suits swamp the English language with gems like “Blue Sky Thinking” and speak of creating a “living paradigm for the whole team”. It is as if the English language can be divided into a set of easily definable core company values. Life itself is a team building exercise. The closest they get to nature is to dress up in animal costumes and sing songs from the Lion King. This is yet another carefully designed exercise to boost company morale. Corporate indoctrination is complete, when a child (Paris Change or Sebastian Stewart) is primed for a future leadership role by the company.

In the 1970’s, Monty Python reminded us that professionals, such as, lawyers, policemen and chartered accountants were not beyond satire. Never again would we trust an accountant who did not have his own lion taming hat. Forty years on and we have entered the 24/7 global economy. We now aspire to be management consultants or I.T. professionals. We feel the need to stay at work till 2a.m. even when we have nothing to. We don’t do it because Big Brother tells us to. We do it because we feel we should.

Under Ice brings the tradition of poking fun at professionals into the 21^st century. Falk Richter is a German playwright whose previous plays, "God Is a DJ” and “Electronic City” also take today’s obsession with corporate culture, the media, and technology to absurd lengths. Richter’s plays have been translated into 25 different languages. He has also had extensive experience as a director, staging plays by Shakespeare and Chekov, as well as contemporary writers such as Sarah Kane.

Richter looked at 100 hours of documentary footage of consultants in action. He found that learning the jargon was like trying to master a second language. Richter’s father was a businessman who wanted his son to follow in his footsteps. Not the most helpful upbringing for a young playwright but at least it provided him with a lot of material.

As with any political or social satire there is a danger that it will get on its soap box and stay there. Under Ice is guilty as charged when Charlie Sunshine goes on a rant about what is wrong with the world today and by implication what is wrong with people like him. Surprise, surprise, he doesn’t think much of the unemployed and also bemoans the general lack of industriousness among the population.

The play works best when using comic exaggeration. The employees are encouraged to participate in the arts and they are told the exact themes required for maximum satisfaction in a play, according to market research. For the Playwrights out there, try writing something with polar bears on roller skates discussing political views from several different angles. And that’s just one scene. Running gags are used particularly well. When your car starts looking for a place to park itself the end of humanity is nigh.

The computer screen running along the wall of the set is at its most effective when illustrating the unnamed company’s’ theatre production with animated seals, or when it displays a simple water motif in the play’s final moments. At other times random words runs along the screen, distracting the audience from the action on stage.

This is an important play, that gives a timely reminder not to let work become your life. It is also genuinely funny in parts, particularly for those of us who think the world of business management is a bit silly anyway.


spiky red things and Griffin Independent present
Under Ice
by Falk Richter | translated by David Tushingham

Director Kellie Mackereth

Venue: SBW Stables Theatre | 10 Nimrod Street, Kings Cross NSW
Previews: 19 & 20 August
Dates: 21 August – 12 September
Times: Mon 7pm, Tues – Sat 7pm, Sat Mat 2pm (last Saturday only).
Tickets: Full: $30.00 Senior: $26.00 Concession, Preview, Matinee: $23.00
Bookings: 02 8002 4772