Both sides of the bar. SKINNYFEST 1
Treat the unfolding ménage àtrios like a Ramsay Street love affair...
| 14 Aug 2006
Fans of Australian televisual trash will leave 'Both sides of the bar' with an unremitting sense of deja vu. Actor Scott Major is an antipodean everyman, a mainstay of the soap scene with cameos in 'Neighbours' and 'Heartbreak High' under his ample belt.
Influenced largely by his experiences as a performer, Major's play writing debut deals with a young woman, Sophie (Hazel Ocsko) and her involvement with two strikingly different men. Major himself plays Sophie's partner, Danny - an actor whose short-lived fame on soap-opera 'Heathcote Hill' is responsible for his self-importance, his delusions and, ultimately, his downfall. The barman (Marcus Ryan) completes the love triangle. A fresh-faced optimist, Sophie is drawn to his unrelenting zeal for life.
Major's script is patchy. Moments of witty realism are interspersed with clichés, gags inspired by Chandler Bing's Big Book of Aphorisms. Ocsko makes you smile though - her alluring fragility is immediately obvious in the interplay with her scathing boyfriend (the more convincing stage relationship). Although scenes of soap-opera pastiche permeate the action, the play works best on this level. Treat the unfolding ménage àtrios like a Ramsay Street love affair - cringe, squirm, and bask in the glorious irony!
Influenced largely by his experiences as a performer, Major's play writing debut deals with a young woman, Sophie (Hazel Ocsko) and her involvement with two strikingly different men. Major himself plays Sophie's partner, Danny - an actor whose short-lived fame on soap-opera 'Heathcote Hill' is responsible for his self-importance, his delusions and, ultimately, his downfall. The barman (Marcus Ryan) completes the love triangle. A fresh-faced optimist, Sophie is drawn to his unrelenting zeal for life.
Major's script is patchy. Moments of witty realism are interspersed with clichés, gags inspired by Chandler Bing's Big Book of Aphorisms. Ocsko makes you smile though - her alluring fragility is immediately obvious in the interplay with her scathing boyfriend (the more convincing stage relationship). Although scenes of soap-opera pastiche permeate the action, the play works best on this level. Treat the unfolding ménage àtrios like a Ramsay Street love affair - cringe, squirm, and bask in the glorious irony!