REVIEW: The Widow Unplugged
Reg Livermore returns to the stage with his one-man show The Widow Unplugged, of which he is also the writer.
He plays out-of-work actor Arthur Kwick, whose career is a very poor shadow of Livermore’s illustrious theatrical CV, which includes musicals such as Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar and the memorable role of Frank N Furter in The Rocky Horror Show.
Arthur lives on the memory of an award he received many years previously for his role in the pantomime Aladdin and, failing to find work as an actor, he applies for a job as a janitor in a retirement village.
He is saved when asked to step in to replace the entertainers who have withdrawn from their commitment to the retirement village, and he returns to Aladdin for inspiration, playing the Chinese widow Twankey from that panto.
Regrettably, as the scriptwriter, Livermore’s Widow lacks the subtlety and wit of Richard O’Brien’s Rocky Horror script, and many of the jokes, especially in the first half, fell flat as a pancake, not that this deterred his adoring audience, who were mostly of the same cohort as Reg.
The overtly racist nature of parts of the script seem not only offensive but also somewhat outdated in these post-PC times.
Director Mark Kilmurry’s efforts are obvious in Livermore’s performance on the small stage of the Ensemble which, thanks to the Ensemble’s set designer Charles Davis, is always radically different from play to play.
If you are a Livermore fan, and think this might be Livermore’s last appearance on stage, you should go.
If not, let’s hope that next time he will have a good script on which to exercise his considerable acting talents and stage presence.
Until Sep 1. Ensemble Theatre, 78 McDougall St, Kirribilli. $35-$73+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.ensemble.com.au
Review by Irina Dunn.
