An extraordinary play at Amdram

CONTRAST: Chris McKenzie (left) as Tom the motelier and Paul Keene (WHS teacher) as Elvis the travelling salesman in a scene from Motel at Amdram.
PICTURE / LIZ WYLIE

Motel

Written by April Phillips

Directed by Joan Street

Starring: Joan and Mike Street, Chris McLaughlin, Mel Hawkins, Chris McKenzie, Paul Keene, Lynn Whiteside and Talia Annear-Kjoss. 

Opening night at Amdram Theatre, Guyton St.

Reviewed by Paul Brooks

Motel is an extraordinary play, a credit to April Phillips, the playwright. Witty, perceptive dialogue, clever storylines and an element of surprise throughout. It's a play I'm sure many other playwrights wish they'd written.

It opened in Whanganui at Amdram Theatre last Thursday night, starring a cast of eight local actors directed by Joan Street, who also played a part in the play.

One word - superb! Maybe another word - brilliant!

It's a play with multiple impacts, like a meteor shower, and each hit comes as a complete surprise.

With that in mind there will be no spoilers in this review. Suffice it to say that this well-written play is well-acted by a cast well-chosen, well-directed.

There are four stories, each played out in a seedy motel room ... and what a room! A throwback to the 1970s with faded prints on the walls (the old type that fade to blue in sunlight), colours in the orange/brown range and decor that includes a candlewick bedspread, kitsch wall clock and a fluffy, covered coathanger on a hook behind the door. The electrics are dodgy (and we find out why in an entertaining conversation with the motelier and a travelling salesman) and there are greasemarks on the wall around the bathroom light switch.

Each story features two actors/characters and is told in dialogue. As an observant audience we see the characters, make a judgement and, further into the scene make an assumption based on what we've heard so far and our own life experience - and we are wrong! And when we realise what's actually going on the audience reaction is audible, which must be terribly gratifying to the cast and director.

There are moments of humour, some of sadness, some of pathos, well-played tension, moments when we find ourselves a little shocked and many a time when we react with a nervous giggle or an out-and-out belly laugh.

Congratulations to every member of the cast for giving your all for our entertainment. You should all be proud of yourselves for your superb stagecraft and that extraordinary ability you have to 'become' your character entirely. Some of what you did can not have been easy but you accomplished it with aplomb and real skill.

No play can consist of solely a cast and director, so credit must go to all the behind-the-scenes people who designed, built and painted the set, provided props and wardrobe, operated sound and lighting and made themselves available for all those extra jobs that needed doing during rehearsals and on performance nights. Opening night seemed to run without a hitch, all the way from the theatre door to backstage.

Motel is one of the best plays I seen in a long time. Book now at the Opera House. 
Performances this Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7.30pm.

By Paul Brooks
Wanganui Midweek 14/6/17