THEATRE
Written by Dan Lee, co-created by Chi Nguyen
At Red Stitch Theatre until 5 Nov 2023
Reviewer: Kate Herbert
Stars: *** (3)
This review is published only on this blog. I’ll present a radio review on Arts Weekly on 3MBS on Sat 28 Oct 2023. KH
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| Robert Menzies-Photo credit, Jodie Hutchinson |
When globe-trotting, 68-year-old hipster, Murph (Joe Petruzzi), visits his old mate, Bob (Robert Menzies), in his rundown hideaway in Hanoi, it becomes apparent that Bob, who is limping, feeble, unkempt and often confused, is displaying early signs of dementia. But, in Dan Lee’s play, Flake, Bob has a plan to exit this mortal coil in his own time and on his own terms.
A young Vietnamese woman (Phoebe Phuoc Nyugen) arrives with Murph, but it becomes clear that she has more connection to Bob’s abode than just her presumably accidental meeting with Murph can explain.
Petruzzi’s Murph is big, audacious, adventurous, irresponsible and unwilling to accept ageing or admit to his failings as a father of multiple children by different mothers. Menzies as Bob is cynical, reclusive, articulate, verbose and a bitter critic of Murph – and just about everyone else: “I hate people,” he quips.
The fun reunion that Murph expects, with fond reminiscences about their shared hippydom in Melbourne, degenerates into a series of beer-soaked barneys in which Bob and Murph trade insults and dredge up old sins. It’s difficult to understand why Murph still maintains this friendship with Bob who teases him mercilessly, patronises him and is constantly passive-aggressive.
The audience of mostly seniors at the Flake Sunday 6.30pm show reacted to the issues of ageing, loss of independence, forgetfulness and failing faculties with groans and laughs of recognition.
The entire play, directed with a light hand by Ella Caldwell, is set in a shabby kitchen (designed by Jacob Baptista) in Bob’s Hanoi haunt, and the room’s worn surfaces mirror his declining health. What becomes clear as the play progresses, is that Bob is bitter and haunted and that he has no contact with his only son in Australia.
Lee’s script, co-created with Chi Nguyen, is well-structured with a plot that is peppered with revelations about characters, and sharp, unexpected turns in the narrative. It not only paints a vivid picture of the world of Hanoi outside the tiny, dank kitchen, but also explores the grim life of Bob, the surly, clever expatriate.
Some of the longer monologues seem a little over-written and verbose, but the witty dialogue and verbal sparring gives clear voices to the characters of Bob and Murph and their relationship is well-developed. The character of Duyen, the young Vietnamese woman, is less fully drawn.
Some of the nuances in the text and the more subtle emotional and psychological moments may have been lost as Menzies, after an illness during rehearsal, was still using his script throughout the performance. Despite this, his intensity and technical skill carries the character of Bob and makes this grumpy old man sympathetic.
by Kate Herbert
CAST
Joe Petruzzi - Murph
Robert Menzies - Bob
Phoebe Phuoc Nyugen - Duyen
CREATIVES
Writer Dan Lee
Co-Creator Chi Nguyen
Director Ella Caldwell
Set/Costume Design Jacob Battista
Lighting Design Jason Ng Junjie
Composition/Sound Design Daniel Nixon
Set Design Associate/ Scenic Painter Khue Nguyen
Dialect Coach Yuanlei (Nikki) Zhao
Dramaturg Tom Healey
Stage Manager Finn McLeish
Assistant Stage Manager Finleigh Wadsworth
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| Joe Petruzzi, Robert Menzies-Photo credit, Jodie Hutchinson |
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