If you are looking for a fun and riotous evening at the Melbourne Fringe Festival, perhaps flick through the dog-eared pages of your Fringe guide to a different show. However if you intend to see some honest and harrowing theatre that will leave you shocked, overwhelmed and emotionally drained (in a good way), then it is vital that you head to Tuxedo Cat to see the Australian premiere season of Snap. Catch. Slam.
Following a successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and a national tour of the UK,this fascinating production has now opened in Melbourne, and will no doubt continue to captivate audiences with its vivid storytelling.
Snap. Catch. Slam. is made up of three separate stories about three separate horrors. It begins with five actors sitting on chairs on the otherwise empty stage. The actors take it in turns to tell us their tales, which all begin as calm, simple conversations, but do not take long to transform into tragic happenstances that demonstrate how a single moment can transform an entire life. The opening performance is from Shian Denovan who plays a nervous secondary school teacher. She is friendly and talkative, and delightfully captivating to watch. She retells an incident that occurred between her and a difficult student, and the action escalates rapidly to a chilling climax.
The second story comes from the perspective of a working-class lad (Victor Gralak), who seems relatively content with his lacklustre life. His daily routine is interrupted by the hysterical cries of a nearby woman (Abigail King) and her partner (Andrew Pantelis), and as he realises the seriousness of her situation, he is faced with a chance to attempt a life-changing and potentially heroic act; a split-second decision to impact several lives forever.
The final act in this three-part play revolves around a single mum, waiting anxiously for her young daughter to return home from an afternoon play-date with a school friend. She watches the clock and counts down until five o’clock, but all is not as it seems when a violent memory from her past returns to cause irreparable damage to her future.
A short moment in time can have a lasting effect on a person’s life, and this is the premise of Snap. Catch. Slam. Each story can potentially go a multitude of directions, and the characters are faced with decisions that are impossible to predict. This is what makes the concept of this play so interesting. These characters are all people that we have all met at some forgettable moment in our lives. They are uninspiring and normal, but are capable of having a permanent effect on our entire future. Playwright Emma Jowett has created some incredibly complex characters; they are raw, candid and real. While they all have a couple of funny moments each, generating genuine chuckles from the audience, ultimately this is seriously moving theatre. The acting is strong, and there is not a single stand-out performer; they are all equally enthralling to watch.
Throughout the production, there is an unsettling soundtrack to support the onstage action. Designed by composer David Kotlyar, it rises and falls in all the right places, and the timing is impeccable. Much like a cinematic thriller, the soundtrack certainly sets the mood of the play and manipulates audience emotions appropriately. Added sound effects during some particularly climactic moments were delightfully disturbing.
The dingy Tuxedo Cat is apt for this intimate and mentally-engaging play, despite it being difficult to see the small stage if not sitting close to the front, or the occasional noise distraction from other shows that spills in through the walls. Luckily Snap. Catch. Slam. is powerful enough to prevent these minor criticisms from taking anything away from the performance. Intense, dramatic and thought-provoking theatre; it is definitely a must-see at Melbourne Fringe.
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
By Emma Jowett
Director/Producer: Shian Denovan
Performed by Shian Denovan, Victor Gralak, Sarah Plummer, Abigail King and Andrew Pantelis
Sound Designer: David Kotlyar
Production Manager: Natalie Rowan
Production Assistant: Kirsten Wood
Graphic Designer: Mikey Kafel
Lighting Technician: Nathan Pettenon
Tuxedo Cat, 17-23 Wills St, Melbourne
Melbourne Fringe Festival
www.melbournefringe.com.au
September 29 – October 5
