The Thank You Dinner
Reg Livermore ends the year with a tasty bit of black comedy.
Ensemble Theatre
By Sam Basger
You get the feeling that you're about to see something very special when you enter the Ensemble Theatre for Reg Livermore's new solo show. Something very exclusive and intimate. An older crowd gathers like band groupies around the stage and waits breathlessly for the star's arrival, and when he does – simply to say, "I'll be with you in a moment" – he's greeted with instant applause. Of course, there is very little chance of failure when Reg Livermore is in the spotlight.
The stylised set and loud costumes hint at the sort of animated experience audiences can expect. The performance is a kind of stand-up routine with characters and a story (written by Livermore), propelled along by its star's talent, confidence and charisma. He narrates, he quips, he transforms into other characters and he holds us all in the palm of his hand.
Rose Bay resident Roger Lovely, a flamboyant gentleman, finds himself in a predicament when he has to travel down to Melbourne for a month with no one to look after his 'children'. These kids - a cock, a pup and a puss, as he so delicately puts it - are left in the hands of his eccentric old neighbours with instructions on how to feed, bathe and control the creatures. The dinner of the title is Lovely's gesture of gratitude for their generosity and, naturally, chaos ensues. There are jokes about the Eastern Suburbs, the North Shore and the city in the South ("I could almost like Melbourne"), much to the crowd's delight. This is a performance fearlessly grounded in Sydney that would arguably struggle for relevance elsewhere.
Sure, the plot twist may be a little predictable, and perhaps the monologue drags near the end, but you'd be hard-pressed to find more entertaining company for 70 minutes than this esteemed veteran of Australian theatre.
The Thank You Dinner Ensemble Theatre. Until 7 Dec.
You've read what we think. Now tell us what you think.