Entertainment

Open Heart

23. Aug, 2019

Sometimes, one must open their eyes in order to see the forest for the trees. The same can be said for fractured relationships and failed romances. Often, we should have realised the flame behind texts had changed from the first time we tripled texted them. Playwright Dean Robinson’s Open Heart transports the audience to a messy Coburg apartment –potato chips thrown on the floor, dirty soup thermos left on the kitchen bench type of messy – and into the relationship between Angus and Mark.

Pitched as an amalgamation of (500) Days of Summer, Call Me By Your Name and Please Like Me, Open Heart deftly portrays the relationship between a bisexual man, a gay man and their open relationship, bringing their issues to the forefront. Angus (Lachie Hewson) is a semi-accomplished author who spends his days in isolation binge-watching Riverdale and penning his second novel. Tim (Callum O’Malley), an executive assistant attempting to climb the corporate ladder, is unhappy in his job and has a healthy appetite for other men. At first glance their relationship appears to be loving, but scratch the surface and issues emerge.

The show begs the question: can love last when two people are heading in different directions? Admittedly, Open Heart takes a little while to gather steam, but at full speed, it’s quite moving to watch Angus and Mark cling onto each other as they realise they can’t make it work.

Dean Robinson nailed the very Melbourne, very Coburg tone to the story. The dialogue was contemporary and relatable. What the story did best was subtly show Angus’ unhappiness right off the bat, as he emotionally ate, drank and binge-watched shows to take his mind off the state of his relationship. A place many of us have been in. Hewson and O’Malley were entertaining and honest in portraying the building resentment, pettiness and ultimate heartbreak between the two characters.

Open Heart played at The Butterfly Club from 12–17 August.

Open Heart
The Butterfly Club, Carson Place, off Little Collins Street, Melbourne, 3000
thebutterflyclub.com