All New People

T.E.N. Performing Arts present this offbeat black comedy at Camelot Arts for a very short season. Written by Zach Braff, perhaps best known for his role on Scrubs, it is a darkly twisted modernisation of the drawing room comedy, set in winter at an expensive beach house.

Re-set on the Western Australian south coast, lonely Charlie intends to end his life at his friend’s beach house, but is interrupted by British real estate agent Emma, followed by the unexpected arrivals of Emma’s friend Myron, a drug-dealing fireman, and Kim, a high-priced escort gifted to Charlie by his wealthy friend.

There are some solid performances by this ensemble cast, who work very well together. Ben Constantin is strong as catalyst character Charlie, Megan Hollier is very believable as English letting agent Emma, Glenn Wallis has a strong presence as fireman Myron, with Gillian Mosenthal completing the quartet nicely as glamorous Kim. 

This venue is notorious for swallowing voices, and it was difficult to hear at times - especially with Megan Hollier’s rapid-fire delivery early in the show. On opening night this was made even more difficult as there was notable noise pollution from Freeze Frame Opera’s performance of Spring Chickens in the adjacent outdoor theatre. While Spring Chickens sounded excellent, it was inappropriate underscoring for this show, and I think the effort of filtering for the audience made it difficult for All New People to get the laughs they deserved - as there are some lovely moments.

Moving the action to a more local locale helps to make the characters more familiar and relatable, but there are moments when the original setting becomes obvious and is slightly incongruous.

Director/designer Nicholas Allen has used some thoughtful set dressing to nicely establish this luxury beach house and the sound and lighting are simple but effective.

All New People is a solid show that could well have a life beyond this brief season. A good choice for fans of Zach Braff as a performer, screen-writer or podcaster, and for those who enjoy new work that is on the darker side.

Kimberley Shaw