DON’S PARTY Adelaide Repertory Theatre The Arts Theatre Until 30 Jun 2012 Review by John Wells Don has not aged well. David Williamson’s classic suburban farce feels like a crusty, polyester-clad museum piece: the preoccupations and attitudes (particularly the sexual mores) are jarringly of another era. What comes to the fore is Williamson’s prescience: for Don and his cronies, the party begins their descent from idealism and enthusiasm into middle-aged disillusion with a focus on individualism and accumulation of material riches. Director Megan Dansie has judged the tone of this production cleverly. She has placed less emphasis on the disturbing undercurrent of anger, bitterness and sexism and focused on the play’s humour and sad ridiculousness. Dansie has pitched her production as a raucous – almost boorish – comedy and it succeeds handsomely. Dansie has cast some skilled comedic actors who clearly delight in the richly crass dialogue and extreme situations. Ben Crisp leads the cast as the relentlessly libidinous Cooley: like a priapic shark, he weaves through the action with a singular sexual purpose. Crisp is funny and energetic and lifts the cast with his presence. Paul Rodda (Mal) brings a precise and immediate characterization; his accent and expression are perfect and his comic timing is unerring. Both Crisp and Rodda embrace the fecund rudeness of Williamson’s dialogue with relish – Cooley’s sneering “You flop-bellied, breast-sucked old lubra” is memorable – and they both capture the emptiness behind the bombast. The female roles are sketchily written and exist more as caricatures. It is challenging therefore to flesh the roles out into broader characters, but there are fine performances. Jaye Gordon (Jenny) is tightly-wound and convincingly bitchy. She plays Jenny as a wounded suburban harpy and her dialogue crackles with pain. Claire Glenn is impressive as the liberated artist Kerry: she does not overplay Kerry’s permissiveness and finds the right balance between shock and sensitivity. Celeste Aldahn is gentle and sensuous as the Liberal-voting Jody. While Jody’s attraction to the amateur pornographer Mack (Thorin Cupit) seems unlikely, Aldahn makes it almost believable. The main drawbacks of this production are the uneven pacing and uneven acting. Some scenes whiz along with purpose and clarity, while others are sluggish and dull. This may be, at least to some degree, a consequence of opening night nerves and unfamiliarity with the rhythms of a reacting audience. With a large cast, some of the stage business is a bit crowded and messy. The voices are at times too quiet and the play takes a long time to warm up (as does the freezing theatre – take a rug!). While this production does not tap into the harsh political tribalism and bitterness bubbling under the surface, it is a constantly funny and engaging show: one for the mad rooters rather than the true believers.