The Middle of Nowhere

‘The Middle of Nowhere’, by award winning playwright Noel O’Neill, is A Studio Theatre Company Production being performed nightly at the Subiaco Studio, Hamersley Road, Subiaco at 8 pm until the 23^rd May.

           Three tradesmen arrive at an estate in the middle of nowhere to do some rendering and painting, but the gates are locked and they cannot get in. They sit down and have a natter while they wait for the key to arrive.

          The two older men, Irish Mick (Noel O’Neill) and Ambrose (Frank Glackin), discover that the young apprentice, Dermot (Stephen Regan), as well as being a gullible mummy’s boy, is still very much a virgin. They pull his leg mercilessly. Mick has a wealth of experience, coming to work from a different direction for most of his life; his friend Ambrose has been romantically less fortunate. Things are going nicely until a loved one (Heather McGeorge) turns up and events change.

Once again, Noel has produced a quality script with excellent dialogue filled with humour, pathos, and surprises. The characterisation portrayed by the actors was true to life, very good timing, and delivery, but even near the end of the season, the cast still seemed to be a little under-rehearsed or poorly focused. In their defence, several audience members were led to their seats, across the ‘stage’ about 10 minutes into the performance. Then the adjoining theatre crowd had their noisy interval just outside the door. However, with a couple of laughs a minute in the script, the audience still thoroughly enjoyed the show.

If a small community theatre is looking for a play to perform, this could be a good drawcard. Great fun.