Messy is the title of the play on at BATS Dome. Maybe that’s going to refer to the story we’re about to see. It’s for sure the first word that comes to mind when seeing the set! But comfortable, lived-in and imaginative are all descriptors that could equally well apply.

There are colourful drapes, clothes flung over screens, shelves full of knick-knacks and decorations hanging from the ceiling. It’s a bedroom, though, and one of our characters, Freya (Tara Weston-Webb, also writer/co-director) is in the centre of it, crouched over a collection of painted toadstools. She’s obviously very much at home amongst them.

Enter flatmate Gracie (Cayla Louise, also co-director) fresh from her session with her therapist. Those of us who have ever been in therapy may wince with the kind of recall and complaint we are now hearing! “Fix me or shut up” may have been what we have longed to say! The relationship between these two women, which forms the thematic spine, now becomes evident.

Both are art school graduates, but that’s where the likeness ends. The ensuing story illustrates their differences in temperament and adaptability – with reference to the difficulties faced by creatives in today’s world.

Freya, seemingly the confident one, is making the necessary money illicitly – another word for toadstools provides a clue – while Gracie has had to accept a job in retail. This turns out to be as irritating as sessions with her therapist. She’s too sensitive, notes Freya, and adds one of the evening’s most telling lines: “I don’t think this conversation will benefit from any rational input.”

As conversation proceeds, so does the relationship between the flatmates, as well as their individual situations. We hear from Freya about the pressures and frustrations of the artist’s life in an angry tirade. And now Gracie finds unexpected solace as a third character Annie (Sarah Penny, also stage manager) appears.

The action throughout is regularly punctuated by quick exits then entrances by Gracie – each time in a new outfit. There are half a dozen in the space of the 40 minutes. The reason for them is not clear unless it’s to illustrate the volatility of her behaviour.

Denouement occurs over confidences and lasagne. Although messiness may have fairly described some of the foregoing conflict, our flatmates now take leave of us with an unexpected but heartwarming exchange.

Nate Smyth is production manager and Emma Maguire lighting and sound designer.

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