Left – Jeremy Waters and Danielle King. Cover – Jeremy Waters and Danielle King. Photos – Rupert Reid4 Minutes 12 Seconds, is an hour and half of coruscating contemporary theatre.
Frightening and funny, James Fritz's forensically layered play peels away at the pernicious phenomenon of phone photo sex and the indiscriminate dissemination of private acts on the most public of forums, the internet.
The play begins with David caught by his wife, Di, with a bit of dirty laundry, a bloodstained shirt belonging to their son, Jack. She wants to know the story of the soiled garment, he is reticent. She is tenacious and slowly the story unfolds. There's a lot of dirty laundry to air.
Jack's nose has been spifflicated by the brother of Cara, the girl he has recently split from, and whose in flagrante video images with Jack have been uploaded on the net.
Ramifications of revenge porn, the very real possibility of rape, and the question of role model/ parental responsibility is the carapace of this examination of consent and the anti social side of social media.
Danielle King is spell-bindingly splendid as Di, the fiercely protective spouse and mother whose pride in her men, her husband and her son, is emotionally and morally eroded in ninety searing minutes,
Jeremy Waters is similarly splendid as the dad culpable of inculcating the culture of “boys will be boys, get your leg over, lad, legacy”, where consent is not the concern, merely the conquest.
Kate Cheel and Felix Johnson give great support as Cara, Jacks' “victim”, and Nick, Jack's “mate”.
Hugh O'Connor's set design of black mirrored walls literally and metaphorically reflects the voyeuristic thematics of the play and Christopher Page's lighting design is pin point sharp, infusing blackouts with a flash pan effect that suggests the speed, suddenness and irretrievability of the tendrils of technology.
Directed with great intelligence and vigour by Craig Baldwin, 4 Minutes 12 Seconds is shocking and shockingly funny, a true tale of the times, teeming with sexting, selfies, tweets and twerks. #mustsee
Outhouse Theatre Company in association with Red Line Productions presents
4 MINUTES 12 SECONDS
by James Fritz
Directed by Craig Baldwin
Venue: Old Fitz Theatre | 129 Dowling Street (Cnr Cathedral Street), Woolloomooloo NSW
Dates: 13 September – 8 October 2016
Tickets: $38 – $33
Bookings: www.oldfitztheatre.com/4mins12seconds/
