Nunsense A-Men!

The Nunsense franchise has been reliably entertaining all manner of audiences from a wide range of countries, for a good many years now - and in a variety of formats, not merely on the stage.

It’s difficult to argue with such widespread and sustained success, especially given that comic taste is such a personal and subjective matter – but there is surely cause to wonder whether this particular show might be due for retirement, or at least an overhaul of sorts.

Comedy has often thrived on an attitude of irreverence toward sacred institutions, and Nunsense is very much a part of that long and honourable tradition, at least in theory. This reviewer can recall being entertained, a great many years ago, by the original female version, of which A-Men is apparently a simple restaging with gender-flipped casting.

While the idea of getting a bunch of talented male performers into the habit and putting them through their incongruous paces might sound promising, rarely do the results here justify such optimism. Frankly, the script is not just showing its age, but practically flaunting its obsolescence, with the clearest example being a repeated reference to VCR technology. This comes across as just an unintentionally - and carelessly - outdated joke, rather than a deliberately amusing anachronism that highlights how out-of-time these nuns are.

Matt Byrne’s talented cast of six men all bring vivid personalities to their onstage antics, but the material provided by Dan Goggin doesn’t often repay them – or the audience – in kind. The few uproariously funny stretches in Nunsense A-Men are virtually all generated by what appears to be genuine improvisation (or else a very skilful approximation of it).

David Gauci is a consummate entertainer, and in the role of Sister Mary Regina, he provides the greatest rewards for anyone attending this production; director Byrne deserves credit also for getting Mr Gauci on board and letting him shine. Ron Abelita, Chris Stansfield, Jayke Melling, MD Ben Saunders, and Byrne himself add up to a solid team of performers, injecting all the electricity and brightness that they can.

Unfortunately, this reviewer found that the gender-reversal tended to neutralise any semblance of sincerity or substance in the script, songs, and characterisations, making this Nunsense play much like a frivolous, plotless pantomime - which would potentially be fine and dandy, if only it were sharper and funnier. Goodness knows that there is a need these days to poke the kind of fun on stage that this production is aiming at, but Nunsense may simply be a show that is stuck too far in the past.

Matt Byrne Media has long been a shining light of South Australian live theatrical entertainment, and one always finds it easy to admire the unstoppable energy that Mr Byrne brings to his many endeavours. Nunsense A-Men may not match the quality of the best MBM productions from years-gone-by, but at the very least, it demonstrates Byrne’s ability to cast well and to give the proceedings his all in terms of commitment.

Anthony Vawser