Go for the directing and performances.
Kate Stratford
4 stars
Venue: Ensemble Theatre
Kirribilli (Sydney)
Dates: Until July 25th
Sharon is a divorced, middle-aged empty nester. Without the title of wife or mother she has no sense of who she is, having been brought up to believe she has no destiny, no identity outside of those roles. Unaware of the concept of life choices, she exists in a curated space of anxiety. Lucy Bell‘s restless, other-appeasing physicality pervades the space from lights-up.
Sharon decides to rent out a room in her house in Iowa. Why? The script is unclear. She does not seem to lack income (although having someone to help pay bills is always helpful) and the thought of renting for company seems to go against the grain of the premise of the play – of a woman who does not understand she has options. Moving in is Robyn (a chilled, laid-back Belinda Bromilow); a woman who refuses to be defined by imposed patriarchal roles and is on the run from New York. Why? The script is unclear other than she wants a new start. Is that enough?
One has always followed the rules, the other has always quietly defied them.
The conflict and risk is low key in Jen Silverman’s The Roomate. Sharon has always sought to placate, Robyn has learned to avoid drawing attention to herself. Any tension comes from a resistance to change. What results is a sort of mid-western female mash-up of Breaking Bad and The Odd Couple. Without the punch of either.
For despite the excellence in directing (Lee Lewis fresh from some amazing directorial successes such as Art), strong performances from Bell and Bromilow and tight lighting, sound and set work, the script is weak for the first half hour or so with far too much exposition. There are too many missed opportunities with plot and characterisation, especially with that of Robyn who is given simplistic motivation and resolution. Often, something is suggested and rather than investigate, the script pivots. It is slow in establishing character and dramatic conflict, giving very little for the production team to work with. The time sequencing is odd, with a suggestion it all happens over one month. If so, how does Robyn grow such plentiful “medicinal herbs” in just a month? Once it does pick up narrative speed and arc, the play becomes more engaging and the audience sits up a little straighter.
Ensemble’s The Roommate is a wonderful example of what professional talent and experience can do with a rather ordinary script, where the “whys” are never adequately answered.
4 baggies
photos by Brett Boardman
Kate Stratford, Theatre Now
