Toyer

Toyer - n. 1. One who toys; one who is full of trifling tricks. The Toyer in Gardner McKay’s 1983 play is a serial attacker. He toys with his victims emotionally and sexually before leaving them in a vegetated state by lobotomising them.

Directed by Tony Knight (former head of acting at NIDA), Toyer is the first collaboration between local Adelaide production companies Leading Line Productions and Tony Knight Productions. The two-hander stars Stephanie Ross (Extremities, Company) and Marc Clement (Reservoir Dogs, Dateless.com).

The play opens as Maude Christopher returns home, alone and late at night, to her house in the hills of LA, careful to lock the door behind her. As the answering machine bleeps into life we learn that LA women are living in fear of the “toyer” and Maude has been working with the police, as well as the victims of the psychopath, in her role as a respected psychiatrist. Before long there is a knock at the door. It is Peter, a good Samaritan, who has earlier assisted her with her broken down car. Somewhat implausibly, given her experience of dealing with victims of attack, she lets him into her house after a short conversation. The ensuing, and quite brutal, cat and mouse games lead to a climax of revenge. But will the toyer become the toy?

Stefanie Rossi does her best with Maude who seems to be lacking in the common sense that one would expect from someone in her profession. This is a problem with the play than with Miss Rossi’s acting, although her youthfulness serves to make the character less believable. Improbably, the character misses crucial opportunities to lock the door and rid herself of her unwanted visitor, Peter, as played by Marc Clement.

The character of Peter is better developed and a more rounded one in Mr McKay’s play than that of Maude. However, Mr Clement’s performance lacks the light and shade to successfully take the audience on the journey from good Samaritan, to voyeuristic toyer, to overenthusiastic actor, to hedonistic lover. The audience should wonder whether Peter is Samaritan or something more sinister.

Rossi and Clement do have clear moments of onstage rapport but need to go further in developing tension as well as a lustful, sexual chemistry, especially if the turning point of the play is to be believed.

Tony Knight has designed a simple, yet functional set for Toyer and together with Stephen Dean has created an unobtrusive lighting design. However, setting this play in the present does raise some questions that, unfortunately, add to the implausible plot lines…for example, why would a seemingly well paid professional have an ipod but not a mobile phone that could expedite her escape? 

The quite realistic blood effects produced gasps amongst the opening night audience.

There is a misogynistic undertone to this dated play and, especially in this time of #metoo and #timesup, it would be good to see the further exploration of what it takes for the abused to become the abuser.

When Toyer premiered in 1983 at the Kennedy Centre, despite being directed by Tony Richardson and starring Hollywood heavyweights Kathleen Turner and Brad Davis, it was not a success. Likewise, here we have a solid cast, led by an able director, who do their best with a play that ultimately lets them down due to its lack of development and plausibility.

However, if you enjoy a good thriller in the vein of film noir, this production, running at just over an hour, is still worth a look.

Jenny Fewster