Noises Off meets Antigone with a lot of great dick jokes thrown in for good measure! Bitch, Antigone from Australia’s Out Cast Theatre and writer Steven Dawson, is a hilarious good time. Playing at theSpace on the Mile, the show is a comedic homage to the stereotypical bad habits and narcissism of actors. The central conceit of the show, three actors attempting to stage Antigone for the Dionysian Drama Festival, is a brilliant construct for comedy.
The show is clever, sly, and full of hilarious one liners and well worth your time.
Dawson, gives a masterful performance as Mynniscus/Antigone, the aging star of the theatre troupe whose diva behavior rivals Betty Davis in All About Eve. Matthew Roberts, plays the straight man (Theodore’s/Creon) superbly setting up the majority of the jokes and sneaking a few of his own zingers in as well. Scott Middleton, as the young ingenue (Callipides/Ismene) of the group steals the show, with his comedic timing and vocal and physical work he does to create various characters. His Ismene alone is worth the price of admission.
The play works best when it finds it humor out of the Greek texts and strays a little when it incorporates more anachronistic jabs, especially the incorporation of contemporary music. The play struggles in its final third as it struggles to evolve beyond its main joke and arrive at a satisfying conclusion. None of the characters achieve their goals leaving me laughing, but dissatisfied by the final blackout. Perhaps it is appropriate to rely on a Deus ex Machina ending, as the Greeks are known to do, but this team is capable of something wittier. The show is clever, sly, and full of hilarious one liners and well worth your time.
