[2014063] Love & Other Acts of Theft
F I N T @ Tandanya – Firefly
8:00pm, Wed 26 Feb 2014
After ditching last night’s performance of Love & Other Acts of Theft, I was keen to make sure I didn’t miss out again; so there I was, nice’n’early, claiming my optimal seat in a pretty full room (though, again, that’s probably only around thirty people in Firefly).
As the rest of the audience filed in, the bulk of the cast – all wearing bright pink t-shirts – meandered around the back (and wing) of the stage, as one of their number serenaded the attendees on the ukelele. With the crowd seated, there’s a rabble as the cast hunt through the cardboard boxes that line the walls of the stage – one finds the box containing the props for the first (of four) one-act play, and we’re off.
The opener – “The Plight of the Stage Manager” – is a solid affair, with Jen the stage manager dealing copping the ire of her director and egotistical starlet, all whilst trying to discover why leading man Max has no personality. In a search for his missing father, there’s some giggles to be had from the portrayal of Sydney’s hip-hop viciousness, before a curious ending. The second piece – set inside a man’s brain, with bureaucratic neurons squabbling for control – was the weakest of the four plays for me, but still had its moments – the idea of (literally) backstabbing ambitious minions fighting in one’s brain has great appeal.
Then comes the gem of the show, Spitefucking and You: A Guide to Mental Betterment. A glorious trapped-in-a-car monologue, in which the female awkwardly drives her relationship-rebound one-night-stand home after a gloriously chaotic everything-went-wrong fling; the palpable (but amusing) tension at her outpouring is contrasted as the inadvertent couple find their common ground – a singalong to Toto’s Africa. The final play, which sees a high-school “wizard” and his friend attempt to use a love-theft spell, is less impressive, but – with a saccharine sweet ending – wraps a tidy bow on proceedings.
Despite the variable quality of its constituent plays, I genuinely enjoyed Love & Other Acts of Theft; tongues were firmly wodged in cheeks for the most part, but there were still a few well-weighted tender moments. And that scene featuring Toto – absolutely brilliant.
(63) Love & Other Acts of Theft: Quartet of unique and enjoyable plays. Featuring Toto and Gilmore Girls. #ff2014 #ADLfringe
— Pete Muller (@festivalfreakAU) February 26, 2014