Sydney Reviews

Left – Emily Tomlins. Cover – Bryan Probets. Photos – Brett Boardman

Introducing Edward Gant (Paul Bishop) and his group of travelling players Nicholas Ludd (Lindsay Farris), Jack Dearlove (Bryan Probets) and Madame Poulet (Emily Tomlins). Tonight, ladies and gentleman, they will put on a show for you telling of an Italian lass whose pimples are filled with pearls and of an Indian “Fuckir” who performs a truly unique form of brain surgery, to remove the painful memories of your beloved dying before your very eyes.

Anthony Neilson’s delightful script is an unashamed celebration of all things imaginative. There are many belly laughs to be had as this rollicking script sweeps you along. The one liners are superb. While there may be no place for child molestation in the church, don’t worry “They’re making one.”

Sydney theatre goers may be familiar with Neilson’s The Wonderful World of Dissocia, which was also produced by the Sydney Theatre Company in 2009. Both plays feature teddy bears that exist in a far from happy state, and have frequent visits from bizarre characters that appear through trap doors in the stage.

Neilson is a Scottish playwright whose output has been prolific, writing 19 plays since the early nineties. His two plays which have been performed in Sydney, are part of his more recent style which he calls “Psycho Absurdism”.

The staging of this play is as flamboyant as the writing. The Sydney Theatre Company has worked with Australian fashion designers Romance Was Born. The costumes, Gant’s especially, sparkle even without any pearls birthed from pimples.

Sound Designer, Steve Toulmin, certainly earns his keep with a score that lasts for most of the production. The music ranges in style from a kind of circus/burlesque, to glitch beats, to Tabla and other Indian percussion.

As acknowledged in the play itself, this style of craziness is not everyone’s cup of imaginary tea. Plays like this tend to divide audiences, either leaving them convulsing in their seats or completely miffed. Edward Gant and Terminus have showed that STC are not afraid to stage absurdist works. Great to see a major theatre company looking beyond the pieces of realist domestic drama such us last year’s August: Osage County that are the traditional staples of main stage theatre in Australia.

Sure, you won’t recognise your mother-in-law in this play, but an uninhibited celebration of the imagination coupled with sharp humour make this one of the theatrical gems of 2011.


Sydney Theatre Company and La Boite present
Edward Gant’s Amazing Feats of Loneliness
by Anthony Neilson

Director Sarah Goodes

Venue: Wharf 1
Dates: 1 – 23 July 2011
Tickets: $30 – $77
Bookings: www.sydneytheatre.com.au