Review: Jake's Women

I went along to see Jake's Women last night, playing at the Old Mill Theatre in South Perth. I had already seen the screen version with Alan Alda playing the main role and was interested to see how director Simon James would go with tackling such a complex play. Well I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. Not only has James done an excellent job with this one but I particularly enjoyed his de-Americanisation, or I guess more precisely you could say, “West Australianisation” of the play. The play itself could, without the right direction, or cast, easily become to heavy to watch. It follows the main character Jake (a writer with an interesting form of writer’s block) as he struggles through a difficult transition period in his life, calling on imaginary women from both his past and present to help him at different personally challenging times. Certainly it treads a fine line at times however gladly I can report that at no time did I find the content overly heavy or intense. In fact the fine line between comedy and serious drama was carried off beautifully with the cast timing their lines and gags perfectly to the delight of a near full house. Special mention must be made of the main characters played by David Cotgreave (Jake) and Vanessa Harding (Maggie his wife). They both did an amazing job especially David who I found extremely convincing, it was interesting watch him portray his character’s emotional decline as the play progressed. Twelve year old Amelia McLaughlin-Jones (Young Molly) lit up the stage every time she appeared and for such a little one, timed her gags with a perfection that some actors twice her don’t manage. Additionally the scene involving Siobhan Donald (Sheila the girlfriend) was brilliant; she had the entire audience beside themselves with laughter. To be fair the entire cast of eight was just fantastic! All in all I'd have to give Simon James' adaptation of Jake's Women a resounding 10/10. If you haven't seen it yet make sure you get along before it finishes. Tickets are a very moderate price and the Old Mill Theatre is well worth experiencing in itself. While you are sitting there make sure you take notice of the set, the detail is just amazing. Well done to all those involved behind the scenes. This is the kind of theatre I want to see more of in the West.