Review (Blue Curtains Brisbane): Theatre for Dummies: A Post-Apunkalyptic Play
Review by Meredith Walker
Art is a language, we are told in the initial scene of Theatre for Dummies: A Post-Apunkalyptic Play, as part of a pacey monologue from its Human Library. As the recipient of passed-down knowledge for reproduction as sacred facts, she is a (slightly unhinged) guardian of lost literature, desperate to preserve its legacy past the end of days of the show’s beginning.
An apocalyptic aesthetic abounds in The Cave Inn’s representation of the future wastelands setting of Lottie Nella’s work, through not only the nooks and crannies of its toxic waste type of junkyard staging, but its detailed costuming and initially ominous soundscape. It is here where two scavenger brothers, Jack Ingoff and Mike Oxlong flip junk, one day discovering two books, ‘Theatre for Dummies’ and ‘Theatre Sports for Dummies’ that occupy their attention and facilitate a familial connection.
There is a lovely lyrical quality to the writing of Nella’s script, with feature of dialogue that is also inset with some rougher moments, meaning that even the scavengers speak words of substance, sometimes even in rhyming couplet. Although language takes its audience through a whirlwind journey of literary devices and references of the Shakespeare, Stobbard and similarly canonical sort, this is in juxtaposition to its modern exclamations and observations to keep audience members of their toes in terms of expectations.
There’s a meta-theatrical layering throughout the work as characters explore the rules of being an actor, at times directly addressing and taking prompts from the audience, and even moving into the substantial crowd. Performers bring a vibrant physicality to their roles with levels of energy and pathos as appropriate for storytelling, with the brothers easily bouncing off each other to liven things along.
Meanwhile, a lone wanderer called the Bard journeys from a tumbleweed wasteland town in need of some inspiration, guided by a sentient lute. The talking, once treasured instrument, now a relic of the past, is full of interesting stories and sounds, which are wonderfully realised in performance, in interaction with the struggling poet. The interactions of these two characters are one of the show’s highlights, despite the audience being taken out of the scenes by the changing nature of the poet’s focus from literal loot in hand or resting on stage, to interaction with its physical character manifestation.
While it may be subtitled as a rock comedy musical, the reality is that his is more like a play with occasional songs by actors singing rather than singers performing. It’s all about its words though and the best moments are those when the audience is given time to sit with them to appreciate the craftedness of Nella’s script. A knowledge of language and literature might enhance audience experience, but it not essential for appreciation of the work’s exploration of the importance of meaning-making through art marking. Indeed, its art vs survival consideration is a theme that resonates quite clearly, especially in a time of censorship in even the current western world, meaning that this a work that has much to say.
