Minnie and Mona

‘Minnie and Mona’ was written by Jeffrey Jay Fowler, winner of the 2012 Fringe World award for ‘Best Theatre Production’. Here, Jeffrey is helped by two other devisors, Gita Bezard, and Arielle Gray to produce this hilarious, but very dark comedy.

This 55-minute Blue Room Theatre Summer Nights production comes from the WA award-winning company, ‘The Duck House’, who were recently nominated for ‘Best New Play’ at the Equity Guild Awards.

The show can be seen in the PICA Performance Space, PICA in Northbridge, nightly at 6.30 until Friday 8^th February.

        As if a rehearsal space, designer and devisor Alissa Claessens has a room’s outline marked out with white paint on the black floor. There are two white chairs along with a massive message board, the width of the stage, hanging at the back.

        As the blues music on the honky-tonk piano fades, the two performers Gita Bezard and Arielle Gray enter. They introduce themselves as ‘Jeffrey Jay’, writer, and ‘Kathryn Osborne’, the director. Then, with tongue firmly in cheek, they explain the how the sensitive and delicate topics of school bullying and suicide will be discussed, and how what follows may be upsetting for the audience. As their caring warning is explained, instead of reassuring, it turns gruesome and the humour blacker.

          The actors enter the set and become gore-loving Mona (Arielle Gray) and her bosom buddy, the sensitive and fun loving, Minnie (Gita Bezard). The two young teenagers (?)are exceptionally good friends, in fact they will do anything for each other. Several lively and madcap scenarios are enacted, before the actors move to the front of the stage with tragic news.

         With their minds darting around, their bizarre imaginations lead to an exuberant enactment of the couple’s private world.

The whole script style is a new genre to me, with the story starting almost as a documentary before being taken over by the interesting characters being portrayed. Two wonderful and fascinating performances, showing the depth of these almost schizophrenic youngsters.

Extremely funny, well devised and cleverly directed by Kathryn Osborne.

With such a talented team I expected a lot, and was still overwhelmed by the innovation and talent. Last night was full, so book quickly for this short season.