Reserved Seating Only

Fast-paced wit from end to end, this play is sharp, funny and slick. Adapted from an unpublished Peter B Sonenstein script set at the baseball, David Ross Paterson moves the action to an Essendon v Fitzroy match, the first game of the season. The language and characters have been so beautifully translated to an Australian setting, it’s impossible to pick that the original script was American.

I’m going to admit that I’m not an AFL fan. In fact, I’m one of those snobs that calls it ‘sportsball'. Luckily, this is not an Aussie Rules match but a play about two people at the footy, one a heathen like myself and the other someone for whom AFL is a religion.

For the past 14 years, Al has occupied the same reserved seat beside fellow disciple Dave. This year however, that spot is claimed by Trina, Dave’s recently divorced ex-wife. Trina is there to understand why Dave had loved the sport more than he had loved her.  Through the play, we come to understand the place that football can have in people’s lives.

Much of the humour derives from how Paterson and Specht have perfected their characters. Even when he seems engrossed in conversation, Al will suddenly leap up and bark abuse at the umpire or a player, exactly the way every male in my family does. It’s startling; you almost laugh out of shock. Specht for her part gets laughs out of being awkward and out of place. To be honest, some of the AFL in-jokes will go straight over your head if you know as little about it as I do. There is plenty of hilarity even so.

One for the fans and the non-fans alike. Better still, non-fans could drag a fan along to explain the references and who knows? You might get them interested in theatre.

Cathy Bannister