At Home with the Sheridans

Life on Hold Productions is a small, mobile theatre company that has chosen some unusual, not conventionally theatrical spaces in which to perform. Their latest production, the World Premiere of Yvette Wall’s At Home with the Sheridans, is resident in a function room at Edz Sports Bar at Hamilton Hill, an intimate space, which allows the small audience to be very close to the action. Being staged in a pub means that the audience are also welcome to bring their drinks into the show.

This show is attracting a “non-theatre” crowd, with many in the audience first timers or infrequent theatregoers, judging from the conversations I had and overheard an interval, although from the enthusiastic reception, we may have many new converts. One gentleman to whom I spoke is convinced that Sarah Christiner is the best actress to grace a stage…ever, and while I may not go quite that far, I will concede, that Sarah is indeed excellent.

Yvette Wall’s play, developed in conjunction with and for this cast, is a gem, and one of her best works to date. Set in a home in a very comfortable suburb (somewhere towards the end of the Fremantle train line), we meet burglar Jake and his friend Marilyn - on her first job. Gorgeously rough around-the-edges and with complex backgrounds, they are performed with expertise by Phil Barnett and Sarah Christiner. Marilyn, especially, is wonderfully drawn and performed character, with a tough exterior and beautiful vulnerability - and Perth’s newest theatre critic is correct in identifying her for particular praise.

Our intruders’ efforts are interrupted by the unexpected arrival of Mr Max Sheridan and his young workmate, with whom he is having an affair, Zoe, opening for some fraught and at times very funny interchanges. Max may well be the least likeable character to grace a Perth stage in 2023, and Chris Thomas aces this portrayal with depth and a seediness that is almost palpable. Melissa Humphries is a likeable Zoe, with great timing and reveals some secrets with panache.

Sherrilee Walsh makes a second act appearance that rocks the already sinking boat, adding complexity to a well knotted plot, in another well layered characterisation.

A character driven piece, where all of the characters are beautifully flawed, the audience were carried along, with audible gasps at sudden plot turns and a clear sense of whose side we were on at any given time.

The intimate set is well dressed with wonderful ring-of-truth detail (check out the photos and the book titles), and a believable sound design (Sarah Christiner again) and clever lighting design (Don Russell) help propel the action.

At Home with the Sheridans is a pacy and short show that will allow you to get home early or have a quiet drink afterwards. Wonderful to see top quality theatre reaching new audiences, with a new clever script, that I expect would be a great choice for other theatres around the country.

Kimberley Shaw

Images: Mike Bowser Photography