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Adelaide Fringe 2012

The Big Bite-Size Soirée

White Room Theatre

Genre: Short Plays

Venue:

The Bakehouse Theatre (Main stage), 255 Angas Street, Adelaide

Festival:


Low Down

Get inside the characters’ heads—feel what they feel, see what they see, hear what they hear and sympathise with them. This menu also has a distinct American flavour which at times is funny, and other times a bit forced, but the performances are outstanding and direction flawless. The other plays are witty, thought provoking and at times intense; it is another delectable cocktail of short plays accompanied by delicious snack and hand-picked strawberries. It’s all part of the service.

Review

Tonight’s menu included short plays ‘The Rehearsal’, ‘Keeping Annabelle’, ‘Stolen’, ‘Taste of Heaven’, and ‘Match Point’. All five plays are a blend of wit, heartfelt stories, intense emotion, and hilarity with unique characters and stories. Jason, the awkward young man still in love with his ex girlfriend, Courtney, has set up a meeting with her to try and win her back. However, what he imagines and enacts prior to this meeting does not quite go to plan when Courtney arrives. He turns into a trembling mess, fumbles with his lines, and mumbles nonsensical irrational phrases—the ones he remembers sounding cool and winning when he imagined how the scenario would go. This play will make you laugh and cringe at the all too familiar situation.

 

A case of mistaken identity ends in hilarity when a young woman is kidnapped, once again by a bumbling, nervous young man. When they realise their error, the woman is outraged at not being considered ‘good enough’ to be his kidnapee and the young man is confused and enraged at his error. Just when the audience expects the young man’s story to come pouring out, the tables are turned, the young woman ties down her kidnapper and reveals her own story, peppered heavily with scorn and sarcasm for the expectations of men. It is an engaging twist that will have you crying with laughter.

 

The audience enters the mind of a deeply disturbed young girl whose horrifying past has moulded her into the person she has become. Although she is a simple girl, her mind is intensely complex and her actions result in a mixed reaction of dread, sadness and sympathy. This was an outstanding performance and vivid story that will stay with you long after the evening.

 

Taste of Heaven depicted an American Special Forces agent who recounts a particular story from when he was posted in Afghanistan. This story had a weak hook to begin with and an equally weak character—a typical obnoxious, dramatic American GI. However, towards the end his narration became more interesting and engaging ending with hilarity and incredulity.

 

Finally, in Match Point the entire cast came together in a tennis match between a washed up American woman, and an up and coming Russian pixie, the favourite. In this play the script cleverly lets the audience into the minds of the players, the depressed umpire and impious ball boy. The portrayal of these exaggerated unrefined characters is outstanding and the manner in which each story is told reflects the atmosphere at a tennis match and the audience’s reaction to the back and forth repartee. The script uses crass humour and long-winded soliloquies to narrate the story, but it is still an entertaining performance and the direction injects much-needed breaks and changes.

 

The Big Bite Size Soirée was a whirlwind journey through five very different scenarios with interesting characters and ideas. The five short plays were delivered with passion and practice responding to the audience and setting the scenes with minimal props and unforgettable characters.

 

The evening was filled with laughs, new ideas and perceptions, and impressive hospitality—these menus are not to be missed. Judging by the audience’s reaction, The White Room Theatre will undoubtedly be back again with bigger soirée, tea parties, lunches, brunches and breakfasts.

Published

Show Website

http://www.bite-size.org.uk/