Wild Thing, Di Smith in association with Arts on Tour, The Q, 28-29 April (and other tour dates to 14 May at Goulburn, Glenn Street, Cessnock and Port Macquarie)

 

"Wild Thing" is a new play that feels somewhat like an older play - it's the story of four female friends, all born in the years of World War 2, brought back together when one of them is in crisis, only for it to turn out that all four are in separate individual crisis. It's a lightly dramatic story with a few jokes, a few tear-jerking moments and a tight 90 minute running time, and largely survives on the strengths of the four central performances.

Luckily, Suzanne Hawley has this cast to bring her four archetypes to individual life - Di Smith as the lively artistic one, Katrina Foster as the therapeutic earth mother, Di Adams as the most seemingly conventional one and Helen O'Connor as the vibrant writer of bonkbusters and recreational pole-dancer. The joy of the play is seeing these four personalities bounce off each other as the story flashes between the current crisis and elements of the characters' backstories over the last fifty-something years of friendship. Lewis Fitz-Gerald and Tony Poli fill in as the two token men filling in smaller roles, Poli as a love interest and a son and Fitz-Gerald as a range of characters including a quiet-spoken neighbor, a grumpy teacher and a kindly train conductor. 

Director Kim Hardwick gives this a tight production on a largely simple set with a few surprises in store - letting the performers be the focus. The lighting by Martin Kinnane is precisely placed to focus our attention and give the scenes a sense of time and place, together with some nice sound design elements from Patrick Howard. 

This is basically the stage equivalent of a chick-flick, with four skilled performers telling a simple emotional story well - it's good to hang out with these friends and to feel comfortable among them. It's a nice set of vibes.