'Postponing the Heatdeath of the Universe' is brilliant...

I've wanted to write this review all weekend, but I figured I best wait until after the Arena/Blakyak season was over, and I didn't have a vested interest in people coming to see their show. Yes I have watched the show three times in the last three days, but I've never worked with anyone involved before Thursday evening. Well initial disclaimer over, let's get on with it. Hands down, this was the best production I've seen all year. For instance I've never felt compelled to write a review before, and I normally pick plays to pieces. But 'Heatdeath' was truly excellent. It was intelligent, funny, well written and expertly performed. I haven't come away from a proffessional production this satisfied with the performance in a really long time, let alone a community theatre one act. A lot of the brilliance relies on the fact that it is an excellent script, with very witty, fast paced dialogue, and well drawn if slightly farcical characters. However I have to give credit to the actors for pulling off what must have been a bitch of a script to get down. And pulling it off really well. The lead role was played by Adam Shuttleworth, who literally spent the majority of the play in his bed. Yet he was so engaging, every line delivered with sharpness and comic timing. Eva Di Blassio,took out best supporting actress in bunbury for her role as 'Stacey' the stuffed animal collecting, love interest, spendsthe majority of her stage time in an extended monologue. She has a beautiful voice, and is quite engaging, although I didn't feel convinced by her characterisation. However, kudos to her for what must have been a tough role, with not a lot to play off. Which brings me to the reason I wanted to write this review. The character of Jackie Walker was played by a girl called Kristen. (forgive me I am unsure of her last name.)'Jackie' is the reason this play is brilliant. Not just because she is so well written, you literally want to strangle her one minute and hug her the next. More importantly, Kirsten's performance of Jackie was amazing to behold. Every line, every facial expression, every reaction was delivered with a sharpness and energy that was wonderful to behold. She sucked you in and had you hanging off her words. And she sold it. You believed everything she said, even when the 'character' was clearly lying, or the meaning was ambiguous, she just sold it to you. If I was to say something a little more constructive, it would be that the high energy, fast paced, witty delivery, was sometimes haphazard and a little uncontrolled. Whilst sometimes the cast was on fire, metaphorically not literally, there where times when the same energy fell away from the performance, not living up to what already knew that the the performers could achieve. There is one more chance to see this show, on the Sunday morning session for Dramafest, at the Old Mill this coming weekend. Those who know me well, would know I rarely rave about a play. Seriously, this is well worth crawling out of bed on a Sunday morning to see. Nick Donald (director) has done a fantastic job. I'm sure I've said it several times, but it begs repeating. 'Postponing the Heatdeath of the Universe' is brilliant.