The Shape of Things

‘The Shape of Things’ was written by Neil LaBute in 2001 and is now being presented by The Old Mill Theatre in Mends Street, South Perth at 8.00 pm until Saturday 19^th September.

          Shy and slightly nerdy English literature student, Adam (Tom Walding) is just about to leave his part-time job as security guard at the art gallery; when a young, anti-establishment, strong-minded, art student appears with a can of paint determined to deface an art treasure. Tom challenges the girl, Evelyn (Sjaan Bosman), and after reasoning with her, finds himself ‘on a date’.

          Things seem to be going smoothly with the odd couple, until Adam’s old flatmate, arrogant and bullying Philip (David Bruce) and his caring fiancée, Jenny (Eilannin Dhu), ask them around to hear the plans for their unusual wedding ceremony. Evelyn and Philip definitely do not relate to each other. How will the friendships finish up?

The first half of the play is comedy, with a darker turn in the second half. This fascinating story has as a multitude of twists, and an original satisfying ending.

The set design is based on the Kandinsky or Klee modern art style, with the fittings simply coloured blocks which acted as Cuisenaire rods, to form effective but different furniture.

The AV system could possibly have been used further, with the odd photo, to give differentiation and an extra dimension to the location of the scenes. However, Josh Veitch and Heather Bloor’s sensitive photography and video added greatly to the mood. Slick well organised set changes from Robin, Mary and Angela.

With the excellent script dialogue, and strong cast, Susan Lynch’s fast-paced and natural-flowing direction, created four very different and convincing characters.

A good storyline, very well acted. Definitely recommended.