There is nothing quite like the start to an opening night at the Stables Theatre. The buzz in the foyer. Then the bell ringing. The Artistic Director Lee Lewis giving her brief, always chirpy welcome. The audience slowly making its way to the narrow entrance into the theatre and filling it up to more than capacity as people are squeezed in tightly next to each other.
We take our seats in the theatre to see three dudes, seated at different angles to the audience, looking out at us rather nonchalantly. The play, running at just under ninety minutes straight through, sees us follow their very different journeys.
The three dudes, the Cowboys of the rather ironic title, Sam, Kieran and Dale, are regular sort of guys who work together at a local Subway store. We presume that their chat is taking place during a lunch break. Their conversation revolves around Sam’s resolve, that at this stage of his life, his goal is to be the dude, the cowboy who wants to break in a virgin. He wants to feel, to take in on every level, the intense experience that this will be.
Sam has his eye on two Virgins from amongst their friends and acquaintances; 29 year old Steph and 19 year old Lane. Kieran and Dale egg him on. This is the starting point for a play which takes off in many different tangents.
My best description of the show…Its an authentic, humorous, very theatrical and sometimes touching exploration of the contemporary singles scene with its complex landscape.
Rose’s narrative felt a little obscure at times with some unnecessary gaps that the audience had to fill in. The dialogue was of a good quality and featured some sharp exchanges – ‘Steph: I carved our name onto this tree/ Steph : Why/ Dale : A romantic gesture/Steph : No. You ruined the tree’- some incisive monologues including Steph’s very frank description of her not so spectacular first sexual experience, and the hilarious playing out a very original adult game called Orgasm! You have to see it to believe it!
Rose’s play was first performed at Theatre Works in Melbourne last year and the same entire team have come up for this Sydney remount.
Dave Sleswick’s direction keeps the action flowing well. Yvette Turnbull’s set and costume design work well. There is an interesting choice made about half way through the action which sees the four performers ‘act’ together to dismantle a rather busy set, leaving them to perform the rest of the play free from encumbrances. The first thing they do is to play a ball game on the set.
The show has plenty of intuitive, playful, movement based sequences which add a lot to the performance. One memorably comic scene sees Dale and Steph miming a sex act as they sit on large exercise balls.
Rose comes up with five interesting characters for us to spend our time with, and the cast play their parts convincingly. Kieran Law plays the luckless Sam who is anything but a smooth operator around women. Come to think of it, all of the characters are a little rough around the edges!
George Lingard and James Deeth play the two other cowboys. Lingard’s Dale is an easy going and easily led man whilst Deeth’s Kieren, has the most independent spirit amongst the trio, and in his search for new adventures heads off on a solo trip to India.
Penny Harpham gives a very sympathetic performance as the nervy, vulnerable Lane who just can’t seem to settle. Katrina Cornwall plays the more confident and outgoing Steph.
A Motherboard (Natasha Phillips) and Griffin Independent co-production, Morgan Rose’s VIRGINS AND COWBOYS is playing the Stables Theatre, 10 Nimrod Street, Kings Cross until the 16th December, 2017.
Production Team:
Director – Dave Sleswick, Set and Costume Designer – Yvette Turnbull, Lighting Designer- Lisa Mibus, Sound Designer- Daniel Nixon, Producer – Natasha Phillips, Stage Manager – Kate Brennan.