The Clever Country

The Minister for Science is worried about the falling enrolment of university science courses. To stem the flow, he recruits handsome young researcher Andrew Dean, developer of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation—a process known to cause bad artists to draw ever so slightly better cats. Can Andrew maintain his intellectual integrity, or will he have to resort to making science sexy? And what does the mysterious TMS machine really do?
Bruce Hoogendoorn is a promising humourist and there are some brilliant lines in his latest offering, The Clever Country. For a small comedy on a tiny budget, there was a lot done right. Clinton McRobert played Head of UTS Fashion with delicious snarkiness, and David Villanti had the Minister for Science bursting with animal comic energy. Jaime Isfahani was shy and vulnerable as Fiona, the pretty, straight-A student who has her heart set on fashion design. Fiona Fox was very funny as talk show host Stephanie, but probably could afford to tone down just a tad some of the jerky mannerisms of Research School Head Erica. The play builds through the second act towards a set-piece climax of hilarious chaos.
Overall, however, the production felt a little undercooked. There were a few teething errors—missed lighting cues, crashes and fudged lines, which should improve. The first act was a little slow and some of the script is repetitive. Much of this could be remedied with a sound fact check and edit, and perhaps play up the farce to bring the first act up to speed.
These gripes aside, The Clever Country is a fun romp with a message and it’s well worth waiting for the second act, where it all falls into place and is riotously funny.
Cathy Bannister