Lifeline
Driven to despair by the end of a long term relationship, Guy (James Whitrow) is about to commit suicide when he is interrupted by a phone call from a telemarketer (Wesley Van Gelderen). Over the course of their conversation it emerges that the voice on the other end of the line knows many intimate details of Guy’s personal life, and has concocted a sinister plan to manipulate this desperate and broken man, pushing him to the limits of his moral capability.
This is a tense, and suspenseful two-handed thriller, thanks in large part to the heated chemistry between the two oddly matched leads. Whitrow’s combination of burnt out depression and impotent rage is sometimes frighteningly intense and Van Gelderen is chilling in his air of perpetually cheerful affability, even as his character is outlining monstrously depraved crimes.
The tight lighting and set design, combined with the small, intimate space of the venue, help the audience further empathise with the main character’s feeling of being trapped.
If Lifeline has a flaw, it’s that the play feels way too short, at just under an hour. This script would’ve benefited enormously from being expanded to a full two hours. The audience would probably have a stronger emotional investment in Guy’s predicament if his background had been fleshed out in more detail. Also, despite Van Gelderen’s best efforts at humanising the antagonist, he often comes across as cartoonishly evil, because the script never bothers to explore his true motivation.
Still, if it’s twisted thrills you’re after at this year’s Fringe Festival, Lifeline has plenty of them.
Benjamin Orchard
Images: Wesley van Gelderen and James Whitrow.
Other Adelaide Fringe 2016 reviews
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