When life becomes so messy that the mess starts to attack you, its time to do Something Drastic .
This was a very funny, joyful play about the growing friendship between two women and how they sort out the messes in their lives. The two leading ladies were superbly portayed with impressive comic timing by Delene Butland as the recently abandoned Lenore and Nik Willmot as her new intellectual friend and neighbor Heidi. They are supported by a group of five performers who act as a sort of chorus as well as playing various minor parts, they sing, dance, become chickens, then the mess that roams around Heidi’s flat (dressed in decorated garbage bags) and also amusing pieces of furniture.
I found the performers’ playfulness with the script utterly delightful. They show how you can be creative while respecting the play and add to the audience’s enjoyment and understanding rather than the opposite, which is often the case with ‘experimental’ theatre. This was in fact beautifully illustrated in a play within the play when Heidi takes Lenore out to see some fringe type theatre. The play had not begun and Lenore was threatened that there were no curtains or even a proper stage! (Not unlike this play itself.) The performers impression of the stylized, pretentious, obtuse play and Lenore’s reaction was hilarious.
‘Something Drastic’ was mostly set in Lenore’s flat and Heidi’s identical but messy one down stairs and it seemed the space above Errol’s Café was perfect for the performance as it contained a full kitchen for the actors to work with. The main set dressing consisted of dozens of cute garden gnomes, which were Lenore’s rather obsessive collection, reflecting her romantic and clingy nature.
Lenore was sure that her boyfriend would return from America one day, pay his debts to her and everything would be alright, even as she gradually learned worse and worse things about him as the year wore on. Meanwhile she discovered a supportive friend in Heidi, a university professor, gradually gained confidence in herself, became a paid singer and helped Heidi out of a drastic situation.
This play was an empowering celebration of friendship and surviving life’s pitfalls and moving on. It was also a lovely surprise to discover the Canadian author of the play Colleen Curran in the audience and be able to chat with her afterwards. She said that despite having to cut a French/Canadian chunk out of the play – for obvious reasons – she thought the Australian adaptation of her play was wonderful and particularly loved having the chorus of five rather than just the two extras as in previous productions. She loved them bringing the garbage to life, the spoof of Judy Garland and the Oscar the Grouch puppet, which heralded scene changes and the passing of time. I must say I agree with her and recommend this play to anyone wanting an uplifting, fun, theatre experience.