Life can be challenging enough as a career-driven, socially awkward single woman in her mid-twenties, especially when your boss is intense and uncaring, your mother is full of unhelpful advice, and you haven’t spoken to your best friend in years. Throw the possibility of pregnancy into the mix, and the future seems terrifying.
This is the premise of comedic cabaret Pee Stick, which has recently premiered at The Butterfly Club. Carly Milroy plays Annie, a 26-year-old office worker who is anxious about her absent period and is awaiting the results of a home pregnancy test. She imagines what her life will become if she were to have a baby, particularly how it would affect her evolving career in IT, her relationship with her mother and her ability to remain unjudged by the disapproving ladies who work at her local op shop.
Pee Stick is set in 1987, in the bathroom of Annie’s small apartment where she lives alone. After introducing herself to the audience, she begins to share her nervous thoughts about what the ‘pee stick’ might reveal in 45 minutes’ time. The performance continues with stories about Annie’s life – past, present and future – including several song and dance sequences from people in her world who would somehow be affected by her potential pregnancy.
Milroy is a likeable actor with excellent comic timing. Her portrayal of sweet, dorky Annie is delightfully fun, and she transforms into a range of colourful characters with ease. From the corporate manager with a hilariously condescending attitude and a booming laugh, to the multi-tasking leader of the ultra-exclusive Mothers’ Club, Milroy has created some exceptional personalities for this production. There were a few moments in which she seemed to lose focus, cracking an unintentional smile as she tried to maintain character during some particularly funny scenes, but this was a forgivable flaw on her opening night.
The dance moves Milroy creates are definitely a highlight of the play. Her energy is impressive and the choreography is so perfectly daggy that it is impossible not to laugh out loud. While a little editing would benefit one of the longer sequences, the lyric and dance combinations are simply hysterical.
Maurice Clisby’s direction is simple but effective and the small stage, with its toilet centrepiece, is utilised well. Some of the transformations between characters were shaky and could have been a little more fluid, particularly when Milroy used her gold-framed glasses to distinguish between two different people. The technical aspects of Pee Stick need editing, and detract from the overall quality of the performance. Many of the sound cues were delayed or too quiet, and the lighting changes often distracted rather than enhanced the onstage action.
It is quite refreshing that the premise of Pee Stick focuses solely on Annie and her future, instead of exploring how she came to be in her situation. There is barely any mention of the potential father-to-be, and there is no romance or heartbreak; just an independent woman contemplating life as a single mum. Her journey to imagined parenthood is engaging and entertaining, and includes all the makings of a successful cabaret: a sweet story, funny one-liners, singing and dancing, a heart-warming piano ballad, and an enthusiastic and relatable performer.
3 out of 5 stars
Pee Stick
Written & Performed by Carly Milroy
Directed by Maurice Clisby
The Butterfly Club, 5 Carson Place
February 17-21
