Straight

We first meet cutesy couple Lewis and Morgan (Ryan Gibson and Rosie Lockhart) in their living room where they’re discussing work, playing music and inviting the topic of a baby into their already cramped flat. That is until they’re met with an uninvited surprise in the letterbox. Enter Waldorf, (Ben Prendergast) Lewis’ old friend from college whose seven year sabbatical has seen him free-fall from responsibilities and land in a world of free thinking, freeloading and free-spirited fisherman pants.

After reluctantly offering an old friend a place to stay, more than a few beers, and a daring suggestion from Waldorf’s new nomad pal Steph (a hilarious Christine O’Neil) this otherwise conventional marriage gets turned on it’s pretty little head.

Lewis and Waldorf find themselves with more than a hangover the next morning when they realise they’ve made a boozy bet to star in and submit a film to amateur porn festival Hump Fest. But is their commitment to honour the bet a simple case of one-upmanship, or something more? Sex may be the currency but in Straight the wheeling and dealing runs on emotions.

Straight aims to tackle matters of masculinity, boundaries and the confusion and dissatisfaction that comes with navigating a life that may not be as ideal as once expected. These are tricky questions about friendship and relationships brought in to a real world veneer, partly by the intimate and comfortable set design by Owen Phillips – that at the halfway mark expertly switches from tiny flat into swanky hotel room in a matter of two thoroughly entertaining minutes.

Straight may start off as a comedy but as quick as the scene switches, so too does the play’s genre as it develops into a compelling drama with plenty of tension by the second act.

Dean Bryant’s production of D.C Moore’s play presents humour with heart and delivers it in a way that’s both funny and thoughtful.

Straight is playing at the Red Stitch Actors Theatre until September 28.
For tickets visit sa2.seatadvisor.com.