BOYS' LIFE MELVILLE THEATRE

Melville Theatre’s production of Boys’ Life is something worth seeing. I took myself along there this weekend and enjoyed this play. An entertaining script pushes the action along in a number of scenes in which we meet the 3 boys and observe their attempts successful or otherwise with the seduction of a series of women. Using a minimal set, with effective lighting, and making the most of the limited stage space, we are taken to various locations in this pursuit. The scene changes were tidy, without fuss and using the actors themselves to effect them worked for me. Leader of the pack of 3 boys is Jack, played with a strong performance by Lee Walker. Jack thinks he is the “worst man in the world” but his wife, Carla, (Brooke Leeder) seals his fate with a magic one liner at the end of the play. Gotcha! Newcomer Rob Sharp impressed in his first time on stage. Rob plays Don, who when gets caught out cheating on his girlfriend Lisa (Ruhama Geiger) says “of course I’m sorry, why wouldn’t I be?” Yeah mate, sorry you got caught out, not sorry you did it! Rob spends a lot of his time on stage just in his jocks – well done. Stephen Koczian as the depressed Phil, the last of the trio, gives an unusual performance, a little uneven in parts, but he still pulls the laughs. Phil is a try hard with the ladies, only successful with a comatose one. Maybe less masturbation might help. The boys are well supported by the girls they meet, played by Stephanie McBurney, Katie Cameron, Kate O’Sullivan and the aforementioned Ruhama Geiger and Brooke Leeder. All these women give genuine performances and even though quite small roles, they make the best of their time on stage. Troy Pick completes the cast in a walk on. He plays a discarded date but trumps his usurper with a great come back. This is a neat little production and if there are Directors out there looking for fresh faces, you had better get along to Melville, great potential here. Thanks to all concerned with this show, an entertaining night.