Ripcord

Ripcord is, on the surface, a rollicking comedic gem.  However, as one expects from playwright Lindsay-Abaire, the layers beneath are where the riches of the story lie.

Securing a Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2007 for Rabbit Hole, American playwright, lyricist and screenwriter David Lindsay-Abaire excels in astute juxtapositions of comedy and tragedy within insightfully written texts.

The finale for Artistic Director Mitchell Butel’s first (and Covid19-truncated) 2020 season with State Theatre Company, Ripcord is a welcome venture into some light relief for audiences.  For the performance I attended, seating was limited with two vacant seats between all audience members.  Obviously necessary for health reasons, this spaciousness had the potential to limit attendees’ comfort around laughing out loud, but the warmth, skill and energy of the ensemble easily drew us into their world, the wicked humour and plot twists therein.

With his direction of Ripcord, Butel maintains the pace and keeps the shrewd wordplay focused.  The relationships and dynamics of the characters are also beautifully realised and it is obvious how much regard the director holds for this play.  Without such deft handling, Ripcord could easily descend into farcical sit-com land.  Instead, Butel skilfully guides this play and cast to exactly the right place where deeper themes sit beside the comedic in respectful and meaningful ways.

The initial advertised season had to be re-shuffled due to South Australia’s mercifully brief ‘circuit-breaker’ lockdown after a small C19 cluster was discovered. As well as a logistical nightmare for ticketing, I feel for the cast who had to temper their rehearsal - tech run - preview - opening night trajectory. For an actor (and crew) there is a particular joy/terror anticipation that builds during this time and ‘fuels’ your entry into the season while your personal performance is honed, hopefully to its peak. It is also important for the ensemble ‘feel’ of a production to keep all that momentum on track. Kudos to the entire cast and technicians - there was little evidence of that interruption visible on the impressively dressed stage.

The Ripcord ensemble is perfectly cast with Nancye Hayes and Carmel Johnson as abrasive, forthright Abby and joyous, sparkling Marilyn, two older women sharing a room at the Bristol Place Senior Living Facility. The narrative centres on Abby’s desire to live solo in this room with two beds and Marilyn’s goal, not only to remain in the room, but to acquire the bed closest to the window and view. Battle lines are drawn and a bet made that Abby will make Marilyn feel anger before Marilyn can provoke Abby to feel fear. Not a surprising scenario really but the humour lies in the unfolding of the antics invented to sway the outcome and the involvement of Marilyn’s family members. It is marvellous to watch these two actors in their roles, both channelling the humour and underlying pathos in an understated enough sense that the characters are eminently relatable. Instead of watching two actors strut their stuff, we are merely observers as two complex women find themselves in circumstances they did not expect and who eventually embrace sides of their personalities they have formerly supressed.

The other cast members also add much to the production, some playing double (or triple) roles and sporting fine American accents. Chris Asimos is Scotty, a sometime actor enjoying his day job as care attendant. Asimos imbues Scotty with the charm and presence to complement Hayes’ and Johnson’s feisty women and displays good comedic timing. An empathic Nathan Page appears as Abby’s son in a scene, marked by its stillness, where much of her back story is revealed and our understanding deepens. Jennifer Innes shines as Marilyn’s quirky daughter with a delightful physicality to match her energetic dialogue and cheeky story. In a loveable buffoon-like role, Ezra Juanta is the son-in-law drawn unwillingly into the various subterfuges staged by Marilyn. 

Juanta, Innes and Page also take on other disguised roles in a slightly incongruous but highly amusing scene that sees Scotty and Marilyn inveigle Abby into attending one of his immersive theatre events - a ‘spook house’ at Halloween.  This is the first scene change too, where the genius of the set is revealed.   Set Designer Ailsa Paterson has placed most of the set on a revolve which shifts to reveal different locations, all lit creatively by Gavin Norris.  The main setting being the room occupied by Abby and Marilyn is an elegant, if fairly generic, care home setting with the different personalities of the two women’s style evident on each side, but it is the perfect setting and does not overshadow the action.  This is, I think, the first play I have seen including a sky-diving scene. Again, the setting is beautifully conceived so that it is believable enough, with a nod to farce, but allows the action and dialogue star.

Costumes by Enken Hagge are also character-appropriate and for the spook house, very fun.  As a dialogue- and story-driven play, the set and costumes successfully take a secondary role. The music and sound design by Andrew Howard were exceptional and truly complemented the unfolding story, from subtle birdsong to the spook house music and the pre-show soundtrack to the scene change accompaniments. Notable also was the superb quality of the amplified spoken word - utterly clear and natural, yet loud enough for those who may have hearing difficulties.

In line with his stated desire to “program for as many diverse communities as possible” Mitchell Butel has produced a very fine production of Ripcord and pulled together a cohesive and talented team. It was also a joy to witness older women portrayed on stage with respect, wit and layered personalities - by actual, talented older women.

Lisa Lanzi