Tinkertown

‘Tinkertown’ another creepy, gruesome Gothic tale from the pen of WA’s Nathaniel Moncrieff, who last year won a Writers’ Fellowship Award for ‘Sleepyhead’.

This raw look at life is fresh from its most successful, Melbourne debut. Produced by The Comedians, the performances are in The Blue Room Main Theatre, Cultural Centre, 53 James Street, Northbridge until Saturday 13^th October. Curtain up for all shows is 7.00 pm.

The scene is a room full of old furniture and junk. In the dimly lit corner is a guitarist (Felicity Groom) playing softly and singing a wistful and ethereal song.

      After the death of her mother Adeline, Tammy (Tessa Carmody) is sent to live with her Aunt Anna Beth. Now, fifteen years later, the totally unreformed murdering father, Chester (Phil Miolin), has just been released and is back in the small, whoop-whoop village of Tinkertown.

       In the short time between his arrival and the frumpy, but strong-willed Tammy getting home from school, Chester has already killed Anna Beth. Tammy enters the house to find her beloved aunt, who has brought her up with the highest religious standards, lying on the floor with blood pumping out of a bullet wound in the throat. Tammy’s father is standing over the body with a gun in his hand. Coolly and without any conscience, the dysfunctional Chester smiles expecting to be welcomed open armed. 

       He purports to simply wanting to rebuild the lost relationship and catch up on the missing years, but things have become very complicated and after his incarceration, this hostile father is tempted by the wild life.

        In an almost ‘Bonnie and Clyde’, or ‘Thelma and Louise’ style escape, he orders his timid, petrified daughter into his car and they head to the outback. Chester stops at a dive on the highway for a drink. Tammy sits morosely watching as her father chats up the skimpy barmaid, Shelly (Hannah Day), after all, he has needs that prison has not provided for over the years. In the corner sits a polite businessman, Roger (Jeremy Levi) who is well under the weather with drink. He talks amiably to Tammy, but how will Chester feel about this?

After a five and a half years break, Phil Miolin has returned to the Blue Room. Last time he performed there was in the much admired, Play of the Year, ‘The Mozart Faction’ when he portrayed a gun-wielding neighbour.

This writer has created a totally obnoxious character in Chester and again, Phil convincingly uses his large and imposing frame to create another powerful, domineering personality. The diminutive Tessa Carmody, who was recently amazing as the powerful and heartless ‘Hedda Gabler’, is this time so frail against her towering father. Tessa’s performance was exceptional and should be in the ‘newcomers’ award nomination list’. Hannah Day’s performance as the druggy skimpy was powerful and extraordinarily sexy (without removing her clothes). It seems that Shelly and Roger’s characters have changed and lost a lot of sparkle compared to the Melbourne season.

Described as a black comedy romp I am afraid that I found the whole thing tastelessly gruesome and far from comedy or a romp. The characterisation was spot-on, the acting of all four actors outstanding but the storyline was blacker than black, with virtually no relief. The sex scene was a welcome break, but it was restrained and the girl almost as dislikeable as Chester. The play needed some contrast to help us empathise with the situation. There were times when Tammy should have been pulling at her father’s arm or intervening physically in support of the victim. I put this scenario down to the writer / director syndrome, and feel that although Nathaniel is obviously talented in both fields, he shouldn’t be doing both in the same show, even the co-director and producer, Sam Farringdon, hasn’t differentiated the character’s reactions fully.

Great lighting design by Joe Lui, operated by Violette Ayad. The costume design by Lea Klein was well chosen. The gory make-up by Elizabeth Baladova was amazing.

An exceptionally well acted, and one imagines very true to the Underbelly lifestyle, but with the relentless violence, sadly my heart and concerns weren’t there.