The Caretaker | Ensemble Theatre

Image by Prudence Upton

This review comes from Night Writes guest reviewer Jack Mitchell

“What’s the game, then?”

The thuggish Mick asks the homeless layabout Davies this question at the end of Act 1 of Harold Pinter’s The Caretaker. Davies doesn’t know how to respond and it is almost as though Pinter is probing the audience with the same question. What’s the point of it all? Sitting within the absurdist theatre style, the play questions our assumptions about the fundamental aspects of live theatre. The plot is sparse, the characters speak over and around each other, and the language is cyclical and repetitive. Under Iain Sinclair’s direction, this is a claustrophobic and intriguing production.

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The Underpants | Sugary Rum Productions

Gabrielle Scawthorn & Beth Daly (photo David Hooley) high res

Image by David Hooley

Theo Maske is a respectable man with a well-paying government job and he will not tolerate a scandal, most especially not a scandal involving his wife dropping her underpants in the middle of a crowd. However, rather than suffering the expected consequences of embarrassment and a sacking, the incident seems to work out in Herr Maske’s profitable favour.

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