Summer Wonderland

Billed as a hilarious comedy about fake snow, fairy lights and the great Australian dream, Mates Theatre Genesis’s production of Matthew Ryan’s suburban parody Summer Wonderland is as Australian as Vegemite and certainly delivers the promise of laughs.

Welcome to Dickens Court and Aussie battler Bob Jones, who has just lost his job and his wife, and is currently being supported by his teenage son, Foster, a mechanic who constantly dreams of travelling. Being down and out is a situation that Bob is not used to and finds embarrassing but covers it up with his caustic wit and good old Aussie bravado. Not only contending with the loss of his job, Bob has to put up with some quirky neighbours – awkward under-achiever Eugene who is having money troubles due to spending $10,000 on his mail-order bride Svetlana, Marti a snobbish over achieving mother who wants nothing more than to be able to afford a beachfront apartment, and the resident religious fanatic, Mrs. Slade, who pops up at the most inopportune moments.

With all the residents of this strange street needing an injection of cash it is not surprising that when they discover that there is a substantial prize for the winner of the best decorated house in the local Christmas lights competition, it becomes a real case of ‘keeping up with the Joneses’, and a recipe for numerous sight gags.

As Bob Jones, Dennis Walsh embodied every true blue middle-aged suburban father in his singlet, shorts and long socks (think Norm from all those 80’s Life Be In It ads) and clearly relished playing this role as his character tries to deal with the escalating madness around him. Walsh also plays a second character, briefly appearing in the fun role of Mad King Ludwig, to whom Foster writes letters about his dream of visiting Ludwig’s castle.

Ronan Mason, in his first production at Mates, was very likeable as the naïve, put-upon Foster, struggling with the fact his mum has left and he now has the new responsibility of being the ‘man of the house’. Mason’s scenes with Marti’s daughter Demoiselle (a very sweet performance by another newcomer to the Mates stage, Sammy Jo Toussaint Guild) are charming as these two characters dance around the fact that they are attracted to each other.  

In the dual roles of the sex mad Svetlana and the too posh for the neighbourhood Marti, Amanda Lay showed great versatility and comic timing in her many scenes with Bob and Eugene, and a nice vulnerability in the strained relationship between Marti and her daughter.

Trevor Sammon, as both the shy, socially inept Eugene - who likes to listen at windows and thinks the only way to love is via a mail order bride, and the intimidating Gustav – a Russian mobster who loves 80’s TV shows like It’s a Knockout and Hey Hey It’s Saturday, also displayed comic versatility in these two very contrasting roles.

Rounding out the cast was Anna Bober as the slightly mad Mrs. Slade, who popped in and out with her empty pet leash and comic rantings.

Director Suze Harper has used a set design that is simple and sparse, comprising two-dimensional cut outs that represent the road, the houses in the street and Bob’s FJ Holden ute. Props were sometimes cartoon inspired for extra laughs, and the all-important Christmas decorations were kept to a minimum. The use of a South Park inspired cut out of Eugene on the roof of his house was a nice comedic touch.  This all highlighted the absurdist nature of the piece and left room for the focus to be on the actors.

Although Summer Wonderland is at its core an appealing broad Aussie comedy full of cliché characters, 80’s references, and politically incorrect humour, it is also a look at family relationships and how the unfolding events make each character look at themselves in a new light. Audiences will no doubt recognize this suburban street, and this production by Mates Theatre Genesis, makes for an enjoyable night at the theatre.

Sandra Harman

**You must be Double Vaxed to attend this show at The Donald Simpson Centre**