A savagely witty journey awaits you with Ad Astra’s latest play, “Loot,” from the brilliant mind of the late Joe Orton. This hilarious farce never cowers from the dark or the simply outrageous and mixes tried and true political stances with the slapstick mayhem of a funeral (and bank heist) gone horribly wrong.
The location of the venue and the production of this kind of play in Fortitude Valley seems particularly apt owing to The Valley’s central role in Queensland’s corruption-filled history between the 1930s and 1980s. The production team must have worked overtime to find this gem during the play selection process.
This play itself was written in 1966 and has seen minimal changes to the original script. Its political message, tackling the corruption of the police force, got a few belly laughs from the crowd—some messages are timeless; what can I say? 1980s Fortitude Valley is calling. However, some jokes regarding women and other darker subject matter did meet with some audience grumbles. The story is definitely more well-suited for an adult demographic.
Although the story isn’t entirely timeless, the incredible cast carry this show proudly on their shoulders with their impeccable physicality and comedic timing. The standouts would definitely be Fiona Kennedy, who played the devious Fay, and Steven Grives as the hilariously corrupt Truscott. They drove the story along at an entrancing and rhythmic lightning pace, and many times, I found myself in stitches throughout the show at multiple points.
A huge accolade needs to be given to Lisa Hickey, who played the corpse of the late Mrs. McLeavey. Despite having no lines, her physical comedy was brilliantly comical. The entire cast truly committed to their characters and donned the most outrageous European accents, greatly complementing the melodramatic undertone of the story.
The theatre was smaller than expected, but the space was expertly used so that every square inch was stylishly accustomed, and absolutely nothing went to waste. Congratulations to the director, Jennifer Flowers, for spinning gold with this play; I will closely monitor what she does next.
I strongly encourage you to get tickets ASAP, as this show only runs until the 27th of April if you haven’t already. It’s absolutely worth watching, especially for those who want to feast their eyes on a clever, ridiculous, and dark extravaganza.
Sessions run from 7:30 pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings for the next two weekends, with matinee sessions running at 2 pm on Sunday 14th and 21st April.
This review also appears on It’s On The House. Check out more reviews at Whats The Show to see what else is on in your town.
