McGuffin Park

Somewhere up the NSW coast, north of Sydney, is the laid-back, close-knit community of McGuffin Park. They read the one-man-produced McGuffin Mail, back the local team McGuffin Hogs, eat delicious McGuffin’s Muffins, meet and drink at the ever-expanding McGuffin Arms. It seems that living inside Alfred Hitchcock’s favourite plot device is a breeze.

When the long-time mayor unexpectedly announces his resignation and scoots away just weeks before council elections, the rest of the 8-strong multi-party team at the local Town Hall must prepare for an unexpected battle.

This story is presented by five actors under the rule of playwright Sam O’Sullivan. One of them is Fiona (Eloise Snape), a good-natured muffin-maker, who learns that there’s a price to be paid for well-run communities. 

The other four play absolutely everybody else in the McGuffin world, dozens of characters, which means they are constantly changing personalities.

Among them, Lizzie Schebesta is outstanding as the writer/publisher of the small-time local Mail, with nothing to show a big personality change except the addition of a stringy tie. Ms Schebesta is also first-rate as any number of good and bad McGuffin citizens. 

Shan-Ree Tan plays Jack, former classmate of Fiona, who hides his ambitions behind fraternal car rides. Thomas Campbell and Jamie Oxenbould between them good-naturedly play a myriad of characters including school children and football players, angry shop customers, hard-bitten soccer coaches and cross-dressing councillors.

But the main attention goes to Eloise Snape as Fiona, who goes for the job of Mayor, come muffins or crème buns.

Excellently covered by writer Sam O’Sullivan, the play opens out to include every possible political angle in this small town. And there’s no particular pointing to one side of the political fence or the other.

It’s another fine production by director Mark Kilmurry, who keeps the pot boiling throughout.

The setting by Simon Greer is, overall, the interior of a local Town Hall, but there are so many other locations involved that it might have been better to stay more detached from any particular place. Lighting is excellently engineered by Trudy Dalgleish.

Frank Hatherley

Photographer: Prudence Upton