Written by Sarah Ruhl
Directed by Kate Blackhurst
Canberra REP production
Canberra REP Theatre to June 29
Reviewed by Len Power 14 June 2024
With the ever-increasing reliance on cell phones and the many and varied problems that can go with them, what if a playwright asked, “Could your mobile phone survive without you?”
American writer, Sarah Ruhl, takes a curious look at the afterlife when a woman discovers that the owner of an annoyingly ringing cell phone is dead and then starts taking his calls for him. To tell you any more is to give away a clever, surreal and absurdly funny plot that has its own crazy logic.
Jess Waterhouse gives an endearing, edgy and frantic performance as a woman trying to please everyone and getting herself into deeper trouble. Bruce Hardie plays two roles – the dead Gordon Gottlieb, who has a dark secret, and his nerdy brother, Dwight, a stationary vendor. His long speech at the start of the second act as the dead Gordon is impressively controlled and he is convincing as the very different brother, Dwight.
Elaine Noon does a fine job as Gordon and Dwight’s hard-bitten and angry mother and Victoria Dixon has a lot of fun as Gordon’s cool, cynical and tough widow, Hermia.
On Cate Clelland’s attractive set that uses projections to indicate the locations of scenes, the director, Kate Blackhurst, keeps the action moving at just the right speed to ensure the audience can keep up with and accept the increasingly outlandish situations and ideas being presented. She ensures that the actors play their characters seriously, which just adds to the fun.
Dead Man’s Cell Phone is a wild and wacky comedy with an underlying serious look at human behaviour. It could make you look at your phone a little differently from now on.
This review was first published by Canberra CityNews digital edition on 15 June 2024.
Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and ‘Arts About’ programs and published in his blog 'Just Power Writing' at https://justpowerwriting.blogspot.com/.
