Wednesday 22 August 2018

'The Widow Unplugged'

(Ensemble Theatre)

Legendary Australian theatrical performer Reg Livermore is the creator of, and one person performer in, 'The Widow Unplugged'.

An ageing performer, now resident in a home for the aged recalls earlier days of his career when he appeared in pantomimes and vaudeville entertainments. I sense a degree of autobiography in the work and a reflection of some of the characters, real and imagined, that Livermore encountered.

There is considerable energy in Livermore's performance and he handles the dialogue, dense with malapropisms, with aplomb but I found the play, itself, rather uneven. Act 1 lacked cohesion and didn't engage me. Sadly many audience members didn't return for Act 2 which I considered to be a noticeable improvement.

✮✮

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