The Men’s Shed brings together a weird and wonderful selection of individuals, each looking to smooth over less-than-perfect parts of their lives.
Resident intellectual Paul, Samuel the FIFO larrikin, and withdrawn old-timer, Tom – the men get on with their woodwork, bicycle repairs and cups of tea in a steady flow of gossip, banter and tactful prying. Abe joins them, a sullenly awkward teen doing community service, reluctantly respectful of the older blokes. Relationships build between characters as secrets are revealed at odd moments, to chance confidantes, as various shed projects are commenced, developed and triumphantly completed. Abe finds it difficult to cope with ever-changing requirements of Juvenile Justice penalties, frequent clashes with his mother and a difficult time at school in the wake of changed friendships, but finds sympathetic support in the random assortment of fellow shed users. Small crises and victories follow one after another in the lives of each character, culminating in a common loss which allows them all to realise how much they have gained from each other.
Veneer’s strong, character-rich script by Kerry Bowden, who also directs the polished staged piece, holds attention through the well-deployed device of casual chatter. Comprising so much of the play’s dialogue, this chatter creates interest in the small moments of the lives of not only the five roles that appear, but also within the friends, family and community networks that surround them.
Casting is spot on, with parts possibly written around the dramatic strengths of each actor, so well do all performers play their roles. Dean McAskill’s Tom is played subtly, no mean feat when chronic ill health and sentimental yearning are the focus of the part – but, as with each of the roles, the whole person is portrayed and Tom is more than his strong antipathy to swear words and general lack of engagement with the modern world. Sascha Bragaglia manages to avoid cliché in her depiction of Abe’s increasingly frazzled mother, Elise, despite her shrill repetitions of many of the catchphrases of parents of difficult teens. The interactions between her and Nicholas Stevenson (Abe) are flawless – the cadence of delivery, scripted lines, body language and frustrated sighs perfectly capturing the friction between resentful teen and anxious mother. Mathew Young takes his character Samuel through a journey of self-discovery and forgiveness that rivals Abe’s main narrative, again bringing intense humanity to a role that could easily have been trivialised as ‘cocky bogan’. Eddie Stowers brings tears to the eyes with his heartrending speech to Tom’s family, but fully inhabits Paul’s role of Shed co-ordinator, a source of stability for everyone around him throughout the play.
The Strawboat Collective have developed and presented a play that is truly touching, working on many levels and managing to be about much more than the small glimpses into everyday lives that are so faithfully presented. Veneer comes up looking good, enriching the theatrical component of Fringe World.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Veneer
Presented by The Blue Room Theatre Summer Nights and The Strawboat Collective
By Kerry Bowden
Writer/Director – Kerry Bowden
Sound and Lighting – Adam Trewenack
Performed by Sascha Bragaglia, Dean McAskill, Nicholas Stevenson, Eddie Stowers and Mathew Young
The Blue Room Theatre, Perth Cultural Centre
Fringe World
www.fringeworld.com.au
18-20 February
