Rhinestone Rex and Miss Monica – Review
Image: Glenn Hazeldine and Georgie Parker in RHINESTONE REX AND MISS MONICA Image: Prudence Upton
Thirteen years after Georgie Parker and Glenn Hazeldine debuted this David Williamson two-hander at The Ensemble they return to the same space in the same roles for a slightly updated version. Rhinestone Rex and Miss Monica is a time-lapse look at the evolution of an unlikely relationship. It’s quaint, light, romantic and quite a departure from Williamson’s usual acerbic social commentary.
Hazeldine plays Gary, a tradie who loves country music and was once, if very briefly, a rising country music star with a Golden Guitar to his name. He is currently renovating the kitchen of the middle-class, conspicuously single Monica, a first violinist with the Sydney Symphony who is on leave due to a muscle stress injury.
The differences between them are obvious from the start. Neither can abide each other’s taste in music; Gary is convivial and chatty while Monica would rather retreat into a book. Gary questions Monica’s decisions regarding the sink and bench legs and Monica questions Gary’s questioning.
There is lots of tension, lots of shouting and unnecessary banging of things, but it’s the kind of surface aggression that belies subverted sexual attraction. The latter eventually becomes manifest, or at least, acknowledged, in a clumsy, fraught courting of sorts. Lies, guilty secrets, weaknesses are revealed as the two navigate obstacles in a tentative dance towards each other.
Parker and Hazeldine are delightful in the lead roles. They have clear chemistry and obvious familiarity from having done the play together before. Hazeldine in particular – owing to his character – is rambunctious and energetic and lands some wonderful one-liners.
The set feels strangely anachronistic, earlier than 2010 which is when the play was written. There’s a turntable, a small radio with dials, and reto-style decor, yet the characters both tether their phones to the speakers and use internet music sources.
There are also modern references including dating apps and societal etiquette.
Unfortunately there are some elements of the script that could probably have used a bit of tweaking to bring them up to speed. In particular, the language used by Gary when we hear him as a radio DJ hosting a country music show. There’s a level of blokish misogyny that doesn’t quite gel with the character we see in person, and it chips away at the empathy we’ve started to build for him.
There’s also a heavy-handedness to the chalk-and-cheese set up of the two personalities. It’s contrived to the point of cliché: he likes country, she likes classical; he’s happy with a pub meal, she sounds like she could only enjoy a Michelin-starred menu. It’s unnecessary because it’s clear they have more in common – including their passionate love of music – than they realise.
Ultimately, though, it’s a sweet, funny, enjoyable story that is actually believable. And how wonderful to see two actors of this calibre in such an engaging, intimate performance.
