THEATRE: A THING OF BEAUTY
Best friends don’t always make the best of travel companions. Some people lose their inhibitions and take on a different persona and others crawl deeper into their oragnised guidebook shell. Meet Naomi and Ruth, former best friends turned travel nightmare. Whilst there is an avalanche of travel stories out there, writer/director Paul Gilchrist has chosen to expose in one play the psychology, sociology, politics and phoniness behind our fascination with travel. And he does it all with a combination of laugh-out-loud one-liners and attention to detail in vivid recollections of adolescent memories. For those who may have just seen Gilchrist’s last play Two Gates, may feel a slight sense of déjà vu – one perfectly cast actress, in this case Jo Richards, keeping an audience captivated for the entirety of a play about traveling – but hey, two brilliant plays toying with the same idea in my books is better than one half-baked performance. Julia Roberts’ Eat, Pray, Love may be the most highly-anticipated travel story this spring but I reckon our very own Jo Richards will give the other J.R. a run for her money. We raise your money-making teeth and gums with one inspired one-woman show.
Until Sep 6, Old Fitzroy Theatre, cnr Cathedral St & Dowling St Woolloomooloo, $15-22, 1300 438 849, rocksurfers.org
Sep 10–18 Sep, The Boiler Room, Factory Theatre, 105 Victoria Rd, Enmore, $16-20, 9020 6966, factorytheatre.com.au
