“With its charismatic cast and belief in accountability, The 13th Month is promising.“
Kate Stratford
Three brainstorming sessions
Flight Path Theatre
Sydney
1st – 4th May 2024
The Gregorian calendar went into effect in 1582 by Papal Decree, in an attempt to correct inaccuracies developing from the old Julian calendar and to align the year more closely Christian celebrations. It was then imposed on most of the rest of the world. And now, regardless of culture or place, if you want to do business in the first world, you do it using the Gregorian calendar. A more secular, rational and solar calendar would have 13 months and be fairer to workers. It is not a new idea – but the arguments against include financial
quarters and shifting dates of public holidays … and the zodiac.
Change is always resisted. And those who have the most invested in the status quo usually have the most power. Such people will only embrace change if it increases their bottom line of wealth and power and damn those below them in the food chain. This is the premise of Cassandra-Elli Yiannacou’s new play, The 13th Month, playing for a limited time at the Flight Path Theatre from 1st to 4th May. It is a Dario Fo styled comedy, full of punchy criticism of current political issues.
In an effort to achieve something – anything- before their government is voted out, two public servants try to sell the idea of a 13 th month to three billionaires. Of course, the public servants Peta (Isobel Ferguson) and Nick (Lisa Davidson) cannot possibly succeed. They are playing a game well-known by the billionaires. Known? They invented that game! The billionaires are of a type and identified by their birthdates. Anna Clarke’s Seven is the female who has parlayed teenage body shaming into a fortune, Ashyr Mason-Kaine is the hoodie wearing tech billionaire and as the entitled toxic male Two, Lotte Beckett nails the faceless men who really rule the world.
In an ideal set design, Benedict Janeczko-Taylor’s portable office dividers create multiple spaces and walls and a strong sense of the public office environment where there is much talking but very little actually happening. It supports the absurdist framing of the script. A mannequin MP is wheeled out to make voice over media statements. A broken photocopier hides all sorts of sins.
All the elements are there for absurdist comedy – but not quite. There is commitment and passion from all involved. But the script at times becomes entangled in its own rhetoric and the discipline and precision needed to deliver this level of political satire is not polished enough.
It feels like an off-off Broadway tryout, and maybe with only 4 performances, it is. There is a difference between slapdash and slapstick, and comedy is harder to do than tragedy. There are some very funny lines and many landed. But many did not because the timing was off.
Going to Flight Path Theatre is always an anticipatory experience. It is a rare venue which provides space for emerging writers, directors and performers to play with new concepts and forms. Sometimes the results are breathtakingly memorable, other times they are promising and sometimes … it is back to the white board.
With its charismatic cast and belief in accountability, The 13th Month is promising.
Kate Stratford, Theatre Now
