The Last Resort

Belinda Bradley and Franz Docherty are Tasmanian based creatives who work across radio, film, stage and television. Their original mystery drama, Savage River, recently premiered on the ABC and has been very well received. It is difficult to reconcile Bradley and Docherty as the same creatives who, with Clayton Jacobson, wrote The Last Resort. Originally receiving funding from Screen Australia and Screen Tasmania, The Last Resort has been adapted for the stage with assistance from Blue Cow Theatre’s Cow Shed Programme and dramaturg Peter Matheson.

The Last Resort works very well on the stage. The location is confined to a unit in a retirement village and the action is driven by some easily recognisable characters. It is the interactions of these characters, their shared histories and grievances which drives the relatively simple plot.  Jerome and Anton host a formal dinner party; someone defecates in the vanity unit.

Whamond’s clever set is on a revolve. This enables the cast to move easily from the living area to the dining area. The bathroom is occasionally visible and the kitchen is a special feature of the set which is well appointed and constructed of useful movable components. A highlight of the production was the “kitchen ballet”, a tightly choregraphed musical sequence of chopping, stirring and flirting whilst the meal was prepared.  The real comestibles in the production must have been a headache for whichever member of the crew took responsibility.

Jeff Kevin and Ivano Del Pio (Anton and Jerome) are pivotal to the show. Both are highly experienced actors who take on roles that are arguably stereotypical and outdated but delivered with a sense of joy and fun. What these actors do very well, however, is steer the play from comedy to pathos in a final scene in which the themes of love and loss are made meaningful. 

Kathy Spencer is delightfully acerbic as the disappointed Lin and Michael Hanlon is genial and forbearing as her henpecked husband, Leon. Paul Levett and Nikki Robertson are the jaded hippies, Malcolm and Crystal, valiantly trying to maintain a façade of values they now find elusive. Adriennne Casey is another recognisable character in the form as the faded actress and widow, Danielle. Pip Tyrell takes on the part of Gwen. Gwen has pushed away her family in order to conceal her incipient dementia. This is something Gwen is forced to confront upon arrival of Gwen’s unwelcome son in law, Craig, played with warmth by John Xintavelonis. Craig is the only character who seems to know who he is and what he values. He is easy, unpretentious and real.

Phillip Crouch adopts the function of a curious running gag in the person of Ron, the yobbo who harasses the dinner party from his own porch. Removed from the action, Ron provides a Greek Chorus of commentary and description, harassing other residents and staff as they come and go. He is vocal in his opinion of the guests as well as Sarah the groundskeeper (Clare Latham) and Village Administrator, Bernadette (Tam Bloomfield).

One special feature of the production is the short film in sepia, in the style of a silent cinema reel. There are plenty of physical gags (who would have thought the sight of a carboard box could be so loaded?) and many of the jokes are corny but the entertainment value is high. It is not often a new and original show is brought to the Hobart stage and the Hobart Repertory Theatre Company is to be commended for this collaboration with Bradley and Docherty.

Anne Blythe-Cooper