Low Tide in Glass Bay @ Underbelly

Deadpan Theatre’s 2014 Fringe production Low Tide in Glass Bay is like three people you love very much. She’s your sweary aunt who gets slighty too drunk at family parties and starts telling hilariously inappropriate stories, mixed with a wholesome character from a 1950s girls’ novel where all issues are neatly resolved before the 200th page, topped off with your funny friend who’s always told they should be a comedian.

Their charm, wit and blunt observations such as ‘puberty love, it’s a shitter’ give these characters, and Deadpan’s performers, a place in your heart, regardless of their flaws. In the harsh, sober, light of day, however, your unseemly aunt seems to be avoiding the real issues at hand much like Low Tide in Glass Bay does. Heavier matters come up, but they’re quickly solved with a glass of wine and a hug. Like the 1950s goody two shoes, the play is somewhat unimaginative, refusing to allow for unrequited love or messy loose ends. And your funny friend turns out to be more entertaining in real life than on a stage, much like some of Deadpan’s material falls flat with the audience.

Low Tide in Glass Bay has all the ingredients of a comic play, and when it is gazed upon in the loving spirit of familiarity it has moments of wonderfully sweary brilliance. Without it, its tragic scenes lack conviction and its quick banter fails to be satisfyingly riotous.