The show begins with a flourish. We see Kenny prattling around, talking on the phone, when a stage manager races down the aisle to tell him that he is supposed to be on stage to give a keynote address at the Splashdown Convention. Kenny bumbles onto the stage and his address begins as one of the top employees at the Splashdown Company, leaders in the portable loo business.
This playful beginning sets the tone of Steve Rodgers deeply theatrical stage adaptation of the hit 2006 Australian movie ‘Kenny’. Ben Woods who plays Kenny is constantly interacting and by-playing with the audience.
The staging is clever. As already noted, the theatre is transformed into the ‘room’ at a Splashdown convention.
It is just Ben Wood’s on stage with basic furniture and an exhibition display sign. Behind Ben, on either side, are images of basic toilets. More significantly, at the centre, is a full length screen which is made great use of during the show with photos being regularly ‘projected’ using Powerpoint, with Kenny using the remote. You can’t get more like a convention talk than this.
We see images of his disapproving father, cheerful mother, ex wife and many other figures from his life. There are also plenty of zingy, zippy quotations which flash across the screen. One quote which stood out referred to the toilet being one of the most civilising inventions ever made.
As much as ‘Kenny’ is a mockumentary comedy it also has a deeper vein. Shakespeare had it down pat when he described human beings as being like ‘the paragon of the Gods’. As a species we get carried away by our own perceived brilliance. The reality is a little less attractive. Such as, we all defecate like every other animal, and for that matter we are mere mortals like all species.
‘Kenny’ is about another reality too, also a bit harsh. We can’t all have great jobs, be rocket scientists, surgeons and the like.
Some of us do jobs that few people would fancy, like being a garbo, a health care worker at a nursing home working with elderly people who are taking their final journey into second childhood, or like affable Kenny maintaining portable loos.
Ensemble Theatre Artistic Director Mark Kilmurry, who had the original idea of putting Kenny on the stage, directs with flair. Ben Wood gives a relaxed, assured performance as Kenny with his only companions the slides on the screen. Simone Romaniuk compact set design works effectively.
‘Kenny’ comes across as a bit of a gamble by the Ensemble. A play about a portable loo technician. Not exactly a subject that is likely to appeal to its middle class subscriber base. How successful will this season be for the Ensemble? That’s something the Company will find it out in due course.
‘Kenny’ was a very successful film. Why try and adapt it for the stage? Why even go there?
To be honest, I would have been with the doubters. Anyhow, in my view, this production works like a treat. It is great to see the iconic, laconic Kenny treading the boards.
A co Sydney Festival and Ensemble Theatre Company production, Steve Rodgers ‘Kenny’ adapted from the hit 2006 film of the same name, written by Clayton and Shane Jacobson, is playing the Ensemble Theatre until Saturday 27th February 2021
Running time 80 minutes straight through.
Production photos by Prudence Upton