4 stars
“Hey Siri, pump me up” is Will’s instruction as he prepares
breakfast and grooves around the room before Katie emerges
from her offstage bedroom. Katie wants to tell Will about
a risqué promotional idea she wants to pitch at the marketing
company she works for. Their interaction is lively and lots
of fun, typical of people who have been close friends for a
long time. They have harnessed this energy in the podcast
they produce which focuses on the singles scene, dating apps
and relationships. It allows them to foreshadow events that
are significant later in the narrative.
The friendship and love between protagonists Katie and Will
is the core and strength of this entertaining and meaningful
production. Their banter, rituals, and connections as emotions
rise and fall, give a solid base for the issues covered in
the play to be explored. Issues such as domestic violence,
coming out, and eating disorders are significant and harrowing
but without the chemistry and interplay between the characters
THE CULTURE could have been a lecture or a diatribe about
these societal issues. Writer Laura Jackson has done well
in keeping the drama at the fore and allowed the issues to
be carried by entertaining story and dialogue. The difficult
issues are not ignored or downplayed. The opening scenes are
funny and feisty and more concerned with being single, dating
aps, bar culture and Katie and Will’s hopes and dreams. By the
time the bad behaviours are prominently in the foreground the
audience is well invested in the characters and their lives.
THE CULTURE is a humorous and entertaining play with a deeper
thoughtful and serious layer. The performances from actors
Laura Jackson and Mina Asfour are very good under excellent
direction from Bethany Caputo.
THE CULTURE features a strong lineup of female-identifying creatives at the helm of this
production, including Jackson, Carly Fisher as Creative
Producer and Tour Director, Natalie Low as Stage Manager,
Capri Harris as Lighting Designer, Charlotte Leamon as Sound
Designer and Catherine Fargher as Dramaturg. Brandon Wong is
the Graphic Designer.
THE CULTURE</strong is at Flightpath Theatre, 9b/142 Addison Rd,
Marrickville until 20th May. It is highly recommended.
Here’s to smashing the patriarchy by destroying fruit.