WISH I’D SAID THAT

At turns charming and numbing, veteran actor Henri Szeps’ Wish I’d Said That is what the title suggests – a collection of sayings, roles and personal moments his character, Joe Bleakley, wishes he’d said, performed or enacted in life. The setting is in a retirement home, where Joe is rehearsing a variety show to premiere for his fellow residents. As he works out glitches in the script, there are interludes and reflections on his own life, including a troubled relationship with his daughter. This one-man show, written by Szeps, occasionally touches on the profound but feels more like a collage of songs, jokes and monologues that Szeps, or maybe Joe, have found littered along the path of life. The appeal lies in Szeps himself, an affable actor with manifest talent, despite the show’s slight gradient towards self-indulgence.

Until Jan 29, Ensemble Theatre, 78 McDougal St, Kirribilli, $49-56, 9929 0644, ensemble.com.au

BY OLGA AZAR