A Prudent Man

What would happen if a right-wing politician was faced with the consequences of his rhetoric? It’s the tantalising proposition that forms the basis of this hard-hitting but hilarious black comedy. While the politically charged script will be too close to reality for the comfort of our right-leaning readers, if you’re a centrist or a leftie, you’ll love it. The problem is, it’s the right-wing that could most benefit from deeply considering the massages in Katy Warner’s clever script.

Katy throws the political bluster and three word slogans back in the face of those who would ‘stop the boats’, complain about the ‘PC police’ or start a sentence with, ‘I’m not racist, but…’. Bigotry, inhumanity to refugees, sexism, harassment, class and privilege are all up for examination throughout this one-man-show. Hung upon these challenging themes, is a script that keeps you guessing and intrigued all the way to the shocking dénouement.

The acting performance by Lyall Brooks was without flaw. He kept the audience rapt for the entire fifty-minutes. The performance was very well paced and Lyall’s emotional range was impressive. He was a master of his vocal tones and volume, able to project a whisper to the back of the room one moment and blow your hair back with a shout the next. At no point would you question his validity. He was the embodiment of every weasel-word-wielding politician.

There’s not much that can be said of the minimalist set design. A comfortable chair, side table, water and one large light was all the show required. The lighting state didn’t appear to change throughout. Our protagonist was at a TV interview so the lighting choice was appropriate. Direction by Katy Warner must have revolved mostly around interpretation and emotions, as the character was sitting for the performance. No further movement was necessary to support the script.

The minimalist design and economy of movement allowed us to concentrate on the play’s message. It’s a message that feels much needed in a world where the President of the United States can vilify minorities and still be considered for a Nobel Peace Prize; a world where we turn a blind-eye to Manus; a world where Pauline Hanson can switch from hating on Asians to hugging Asians on TV as she’s decided it’s more fun to be hating on Muslims now. Thank goodness there are playwrights like Katy out there reminding us to question everything our leaders say and do.

Kiesten McCauley 

Photographer: Adam Fawcett