Mr Kolpert

Garth Holcombe, Claire Lovering, Paige Gardiner, Tim Reuben. Image by Gez Xavier Mansfield.

Sarah and Ralf invite Edith and Bastian over for dinner for a night of manipulation and mind games – the unlikely dinner party discussion being the murder they have just committed. Tempers and frustrations flare as Edith and Bastian struggle to understand if they are being tricked or if they are in the company of genuine murderers.

The sign on the door promised course language, violence, and nudity, and in that respect, it does not disappoint. This sign could have been a tagline for the play, which seemed to be addressing the topic of the social function of gratuity. It also foreshadowed the fact that there would be little analysis of the bizarre subject matter – what you see is what you get, and the main selling point here is shock value.

David Gieselmann’s play is funny and entertaining, but superficial. Characters are one-dimensional and while each has a logistical function within the story, they are not fully fleshed out people themselves. Violence and nudity is gratuitous, and while I understand that is the point, it’s a fairly dated concept that reached its peak with Tarantino and has not evolved in this production. The structure of events is reminiscent of Hitchcock’s Rope, however, unlike Rope, where suspense is steadily built as we learn more abut the characters, in Mr Kolpert, the suspense is one-tone, largely revolving around the question of whether or not murder took place. Consequently, it becomes a little tedious in the top half.

Performances are a mixed bag. Claire Lovering and Tim Reuben as Sarah and Ralf are a little fresh. Rueben shines brighter in physical performance rather than dialogue scenes (and not just because of the nudity!) Eden Lacey’s straight laced Pizza Man brings a wonderful comic contrast to the madness, casually spitting out the last of his puke like it were any other day in the life. Garth Holcombe as Bastian is a born comedian and delightful to watch. Paige Gardiner as Edith is undoubtedly the best thing about this production. Moving from frumpy wife to saucy sex goddess and murderess, Gardiner brings a believability to her character journey which is not present in the writing.

There are some mismatched production design decisions going on. Everything about these characters screams middle or upper middle class. So why, then, the ugly 80s couch, which looks more at home in a student or squat house than in image-conscious Sarah’s home? Surely this kind of couple would have a dinning table and not eat every meal on the couch? The comedy in ordering pizza for dinner is diluted by the lack of contrasting high-culture imagery. The use of phospherant paint splattered across the set contributes nothing, and has the irritating effect of lighting up the stage enough in the blackout scenes so that we can see the performers awkwardly moving into their next positions.

The most frustrating thing about this production is that the theme of normalcy is lost. Apart from the Pizza Man, there is no contrast between the normal and abnormal. None of the characters are depicted as normal to begin with, and so their journey to abnormality is hardly shocking. This production is outrageous, funny, and entertaining, but does not stand up to analysis.