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Lottery
Presented by: BATS Theatre Company
Venue: Cromwell Street Theatre
Reviewer: Catherine Kohlen
Date Reviewed: 12th October, 2007
What would you do if you won over a million dollars?
Would you help others or perhaps just yourself?
In a show that highlights moral fibre (or lack thereof) we are taken
on a journey of greed.
Do these people have a predisposition to selfishness or did the
lottery make them that way? We all wanna believe the best in people
but apparently windfalls just bring out the worst in them.
Lottery is a theatre experience in 3 acts.
Local writer and actor Matt Caton has written three stories that
reflect groups of Aussie battlers and how each of them react to
their sudden arrival into the land of “ker-ching & bling bling”. A
series of amusing vignettes set in three different homes is where we
are first introduced to these characters. Each one of them having
their hardships, but does the end justify the means? Should we feel
for these people?
The first piece takes us into the loungeroom of two slackers and
their barry-business-man housemate. Instead of taking the money and
running, these go-getters have a plan to make more money. More
gambling (illegal style, is there a better one?) in their own lounge
room to take advantage of the “plenty of suckers”. The characters of
Nev and Larry share a nice chemistry as the bogans with a mission to
be mega rich. Oh, I smell impending disaster, not to mention irony…
After intermission, the impressive set is transformed from
loungeroom to quaint kitchen.
Flats on wheels are always the way to go. Backstage crew worked hard
to set the scenes.
Possibly one of the most dressed shows I’ve seen at Cromwell in a
while. Nice job from designer Kim Davies.
The second storyline introduces us to lonely widow Susan (Kim Davies
handy with a hammer and equally at home here as the sad recluse as
she is as the aggressive gangsters mole in story one). It’s obvious
Susan has had a rough trot. She’s had a history of being taken for
rides by unscrupulous telemarketers not to mention lack of support
from her selfish children. We find her befriended by a seemingly
caring phone salesman who’s trying to shine a light on the
disrespect she’s been receiving. But this widow is unrelenting -
“how lovely seeing them all again”. Oh, I smell denial…
The third piece takes us into the home of a married couple (an
unhappy one at that). The bitter wife reaching for release in the
form of the refrigerator repair man and the repressed husband
reaching out to the children he can’t have. Is this one man the only
person that points toward any hope of some good coming out of the
big win? Do I smell retribution?
Lottery is a surprisingly entertaining production. It’s an
interesting concept to run with and a subject matter not seen much
on the Aussie stage.
Matt Caton has done a nice job of creating some dark & witty
dialogue. The dotting of popular culture gave it a current feel. I
imagine quite a challenge to write, co-direct and act. Being a BATS
virgin, I am not familiar with their past work, but it’s obvious
that the team worked hard to produce this original work.
All the young actors segue in and out of their scenes well and
worked hard on making changes to their physicality in the demands of
multiple roles.
They were believable and many resisted the urge to play just for
laughs. Other faces to look out for - Laura McIntosh taking delight
in her role as the flirtatious girlfriend and then showing restraint
as the daughter of the lonely widow, together with Rhys Martin
showing his range as Ronnie (moccasin-wearin’ voice of reason ), the
disinterested phone obsessed son & the smooth operator boyfriend.
They were at times harboured by slow set changes, one particular in
the midst of the first piece (as we await the assembly of a ping
pong table). Perhaps preset as another furniture item would work
better or using a representational table instead of literal one?
There was an obvious lack of music in this show, albeit at the very
end (nevertheless a terrific song choice). It may have been a nice
distraction for the audience to have a couple of transition songs
between the acts.
Clever use of projections introduces us to each story. Thought had
obviously been taken with the wording to give us some key indicators
without giving too much away.
Particularly amusing were the projections that were used at the end
of the show <spoiler alert!>. It allows us to see what happens to
all the nasties that got their dirty grubs on the cash. A lot of the
characters in the show are particularly unlikeable. Gaining insight
into their demise is most satisfying. A nice bit of comeuppance
never goes astray!
In the end we’re left wondering if money can really make you happy?
An oldy but a goody.
Let’s hope Lottery will get an opportunity of a remount and you can
decide for yourself.
Catherine has been involved with theatre and music for over 25
years. She studied singing and has had tuition in piano, flute and
dance. Since departing high school, Cathy has continued in the world
of musicals, dinner theatre, theatre in education, fringe festivals,
TV, film, voiceovers and bands.
During the day, Cathy is an office manager at a film production
company. By night she runs a co-operative theatre company, The
Act-O-Matic 3000 inc, together with four other very dear ex Perth-ites
plus 1 hot chili. Their aim is to get people out of their living
rooms, stop watching Big Brother and inspire them back to
challenging theatre. |