German dramatist Franz Xaver Kroetz’s ‘Request Program’, directed by Brendan Cowell, was the second production of the Sydney Theatre Company’s experimental arm, ‘Wharf2Loud’. There was considerable hype around the play with Cowell describing ‘Request Program’ as a ‘chilling, haunting piece of theatre’, and a ‘beautiful portrait of contemporary loneliness’.
On seeing it, I was surprised by the downbeat nature of the play. ‘Request Program’ felt like a slice of reality television without any of the spice! The play followed Emma Swift around her small flat from the time when she got home from work till after she went to bed.
I left, feeling at a loss as to what the excitement about this play was about. ‘Request Program’ ran for one hour. Suzi Dougherty as Ms Swift doesn’t say a word. Zip! We just see her doing her stuff around the flat: preparing her dinner, listening to her favourite radio program- a lonely hearts radio program featuring a husky voiced disc jockey. We see her endlessly repeating tasks. We see her preparing for bed, with her single bed springing out of a cupboard, to fit in with the cramped space in her bedsit.
Yes, ‘Request Program’ did depict the horrors of personal loneliness and isolation. My gripes…this was a one idea play that went for one hour. It may have worked as ten minute piece but that’s about all! There was little to hold the attention, let alone the imagination! Another gripe…wouldn’t a mature, intelligent woman, at the least, be whiling away her hours, entertaining herself by surfing the net?!
‘Request Program’ didn’t deserve the full hearted and sensitive performance delivered by Suzi Dougherty.