Written by Greg Gould
Directed by Cate Clelland
Budding
Theatre production
Belconnen Theatre to 19 August
Reviewed by Len Power 17 August 2017
The writer of ‘The Inheritance’, Canberra’s Greg Gould, has
won awards for short plays but this, his first full-length play, suffers from
construction problems, over-written characters and a storyline that struggles
to maintain interest
.
The play focusses on a family squabbling before the reading
of the Will of their recently deceased father.
The lengthy first half consists of the sisters and mother
mostly bringing up past grievances.
There’s too much detail that doesn’t really add up to much or move the
story on.
Flashback scenes with the father are confusing and have
little relevance to the plot. Having the
mother sitting in the toilet and refusing to come out, results in an overlong
and static sequence. The banter between
the characters, while occasionally amusing, sounds more like television sitcom
than realistic theatre dialogue.
The short second half leads to the reading of the Will and
an interesting, but not clearly explained surprise.
Director, Cate Clelland, has produced an uneven show on a
drab office and bathroom composite set that she also designed. Acting performances vary widely but it’s hard
to judge the quality of performances when the actors seem to be struggling with
over-written characters.
Linda Chen’s character, at least, does have a nicely
understated sense of reality and this good actress makes the most of it. Rob Defries, brings depth and humour to the
small role of the lawyer. The clichéd
and offensive comedy relief gay character, Paul, adds nothing to the plot
except irritation.
It’s good to see an enterprising local theatre company, in Budding Productions,
staging a new play by a Canberra writer but ‘The Inheritance’ still needs a lot
of work if it’s to have a future.
This review was first
published in the Canberra City News digital edition of 18th
August.
Len Power’s reviews
can also be heard on Artsound FM’s ‘Artcetera’ program from 9am on Saturdays
and on other selected Artsound programs.
