THE SOUL CONSUMING WORLD OF COMMERCIAL RETAIL |
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) written and directed by Thomas Sainsbury Fingerprints and Teeth productions at Cross Street Studios, Auckland From 24 Aug 2007 to 26 Aug 2007 [1hr 15mins, no interval] Reviewed by Nik Smythe, 26 Aug 2007 |
Six very capable young actors and a number of chairs and long tables upholstered with newspaper are all the materials required to make up this engaging and entertaining black comedy.
Marion Shortt, Stephanie Lee, Daniel Mainwaring and Steven A. Davis each play multiple roles, whilst Todd Emerson carries the story for the duration as main character Dean. He's the character we get to know through his narrated diary entries - a clinically depressed generation Y lad who's worked in the mall's cinema complex for eight years. With his lousy pay rate and his inner-city cost of living plus his condescending superior at work, Dean is the consummate victim of his job, but too apathetic to look for anything better.
Terry Hoong plays Ying, a Chinese immigrant working in the foodcourt who mostly hides in the background for two thirds of the 75 minute show, with only a couple of letters home to hint at the shocking agenda she has planned when she finally comes to execute it. Ying's awkward Asian sweetness combined with her odd taste for bloodthirsty films make for a creepy sort of psychotic villain that younger people could have nightmares about.
Versatile Steven A. Davis, the buff one who looks like Jack Johnson, plays a number roles including a young Indian girl, an odd young man who spends his life in the mall's model shop, and two middle-manager characters, each of whom is a complete prick. The clear suggestion is that anyone with the inclination to rise up in the ranks of retail corporations has to be an arsehole. It works for me, at least as a gross generalisation.
Amongst their own itinerary of diverse roles, the equally if not more versatile Marion Shortt and Stephanie Lee are a fine team as two middle class ladies from Remuera, running a starving children fund booth, and Tyasha and Felicia, troublemaking pubescent streetkid girls in hoodies. I shan't bother with the obvious comparisons to successful female comedy duos, but just suggest that someone give them a show. I'll watch it. NZ's answer to Absolutely Fabulous perhaps - 'Predominantly Adequate?' ...but I digress.
As hardworking, badly exploited Indian immigrant Kunwar, challenged storeman Willy and frustrated shirt salesman Adam, Daniel Mainwaring is indeed no slouch in the versatility department. Suffice to say, strong cast, no weak links.
Director / producer / playwright Thomas Sainsbury's well written script is brought to fine life by the confident cast, owning their lines so well as to give the impression of being a slickly executed devised work. That impression may be partly also due to the poor-theatre production values - no sound or theatrical lighting, just the actors and the perfunctory furniture. Not even a programme in fact. I could see how lights in particular could enhance the play's numerous powerful moments, but with the strength of the performers and their confidence in the script, it holds up just fine. Not to mention the added authenticity of the harsh flouro-lit environment.
As a commentary on the current state of current media pervasion and the soul consuming world that is commercial retail, The Mall is fairly on the money, bleak and uncompromising as it essentially is.
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John Smythe
Laurie Atkinson (The Dominion Post);
Lynn Freeman (Capital Times);