Neil Labute’s ‘The Shape of Things’ is a one-act show crackling with tension. The dialogue and four-person cast do a seriously good job of unsettling and amusing their audience in equal measure; it’s a tightly woven exploration of art, youth, truth, and how on earth you find your way through those things when you’re still in university.
Kathryn Thomas has skillfully directed the company to explore the strange and complex interactions between manipulation and agency, art and artist. The script itself is excellent, and this production does a great job of finding the humanity, mainly through illustrating the loneliness of each character, even in their worst moments.
The show is intimate; set in bedrooms, lounge rooms, corners of campus and, notably, two gallery settings. The most impactful moments in this production come from the subtle misunderstandings that litter the conversations; each of the students in this fictional college town is thoroughly on their own arc, while being irrevocably changed by where their arcs intersect. Influence and change are central themes, and each actor does well at finding their character’s particular place and pace.
Evelyn is the most enigmatic character of the set, and is here performed as being quite aloof and hard to read. This leaves the mystery of her motivations to be interpreted, which lead to some whispers of speculation in the audience throughout the show. Some of the most disarming moments are when she softens and connects with Adam, the other lead.
Adam transforms across the play, and is played with an earnestness that endears him to the audience despite some of his choices. The web of connections and misconceptions that thread through the play leave a lot of questions and offered plentiful conversation on the car ride home.
Every character has moments of comedy and moments of vulnerability, and this small cast carry them off in style. There’s crackling tension, youthful energy and also moments that drew genuine gasps from the audience. The final moments had us holding our breath.
If you’re interested in dark humour or theatre about human beings in the throes of their fears and insecurities, this is a fascinating and engaging production of a whip-smart play. Lane Cove Theatre Company’s new space in The Pottery Lane Performance Space is a great fit for this show, and the clever, minimal set design works really well in the room. This is an impactful and interesting show, and worth a look in for HSC Drama Majors as an excellent production of a core text for Topic 6: Black Comedy.
To book tickets to The Shape of Things, please visit https://www.lanecovetheatrecompany.com.au/.
