Written by Craig Alexander and Shelly Higgs Directed by Shelly Higgs
The
Street Theatre, 4th to the 8th of December 2013
Review by Len Power
‘And
Then There Were 3’, described as ‘a quirky comedy’, was developed as part of
the Street Theatre’s The Hive program. Written
by the director, Shelly Higgs, and Craig Alexander, who also plays the father, it’s
a heartfelt story about a young couple having a baby and learning to look after
it. They haven’t a clue where to start
and we also observe the negative impact on their relationship through the
stresses and strains that come with starting a family.
The
strength of this production is in the design and direction. It’s pretty much a family-developed show with
the clever set and imaginative props as well as costumes and sound all credited
to Craig Alexander and Shelly Higgs. The
excellent lighting design by Gillian Schwab adds strongly to the atmosphere and
Josh Jones has provided some appealing original music with songs sung mainly by
Craig Alexander.
There
are good performances from Caroline Simone O’Brien as the mother and Craig
Alexander as the father. It was an
inspired decision to have the excellent Raoul Cramer as the baby
puppeteer/Greek Chorus/props person.
Some
tightening in the writing here and there would help and, even if you argue that
these people talk this way, the frequent bad language gets a bit wearing. The straightforward story could do with a dramatic
twist or an angle to make it unique and less predictable. Nevertheless, it’s a pleasant ninety minutes
of adult fun with some universal truths that most people will be able to
identify with.
Originally published in Canberra City News on 5 December 2013
