Presented by Essential Workers. Written by Nikita Waldron. Directed by Mehhma Malhi
The romantic comedy formula is given a hidden depth in this new Australian work. AMBER is irresistable
Reviewed by Justin Clarke
Old Fitz Theatre, Woolloomooloo
Until 11th April, 2025
Tickets: https://www.oldfitztheatre.com.au/amber
Type: New Work, Australian, Romantic Dramedy
If You Liked: Any Richard Curtis Romantic Comedy
Anyone who’s grown up on classic romantic comedy movies will recognise the tropes: boy meets girl, girl fawns over boy, girl who wears glasses is secretly hot when she takes them off, boombox over the head love confession, adult reporter disguises as a teenager to report at a high school and falls in love with a teacher, uptight rich girls falls in love with her step-brother….
Okay, so maybe not all of them should be held in high regard.
Nikita Waldron’s Rebel Wilson Comedy Commissioned new work, AMBER, starts off like your classic rom-com. Adorned in a pink drenched set that would make Mattel blush, courtesy of Hailley Hunt, Waldron’s lovelorn protagonist, Amber, lays on her bed, fluffy pink pen in hand as she writes in her journal titled Amber: A Love Story.
Before long we’re thrown more Richard Curtis rom-com references than you can shake Amber’s pink-feathered diary at as we step back in time through Amber’s monologuing. We’re about to see a love story, but not the type you know. Throughout, the set holds hidden eccentricities that add levels, depth and moments of humour as we shift from Western Sydney high schools, to Queenstown rooftops, late-night Kebab shops, and cliff-edged apartment rooms.
Waldron is the world around which AMBER revolves. She is both the pen master and the narrator through which Amber explores her idyllic rom-com-fetishized world. The performance is subtle and nurtured throughout. You can tell that this story and Amber’s character are both close to Waldron’s heart.
Directed by Mehhma Malhi, AMBER wears its heart on its sleeve and pulses with a steadiness throughout, with enough curiosity to overcome its purposefully cliche setup. As Amber tells her story about her first meeting with the eventual love of her life, metallic clangs and sudden light changes interrupt. There’s something hidden in her mind here that Amber is refusing to come to terms with.
Malhi keeps the piece fluid, with Waldron navigating us through time and space. It can often become lost in its own timeline and intrigue, but once the trajectory is clear, we find ourselves back on track. It’s in these moments that AMBER veers from a classic Curtis, to something else that yearns to stand on its own two legs.
AMBER may just be your next Australian streaming series binge
Harry Stacey, Ashan Kumar and Kurt Ramjan simultaneously play Amber’s love of her life, as well as the other relationships that are fleeting or lasting. Each brings their own flavour and seduction to Amber’s life, but the main jewel of Amber’s eye never stays long enough for us to truly fall in love with him as Amber does. We’re told we should love him, rather than naturally gifted the time to.
Esha Jessy as Amber’s best friend brings the majority of the laughs through her unabashed language and harsh truths that are served into Amber’s picture perfect view of her idyllic partner. Her absence through the middle of the piece is felt, but upon her arrival, hers and Waldron’s chemistry begins to bubble once more.
As a new piece of Australian theatre, AMBER is totes adorables. It holds a hidden depth to it that sets it apart within its own structure and veers you into recognisable territories before shaping itself to be an exploration of a woman who yearns for that one true love. After all, we all have our own love stories, whether they be a Sixteen Candles or a Four Weddings and a Funeral vibe.
It could very well be that AMBER may just be your next Australian streaming series binge.
Theatre Thought:Â Which romantic comedy film did you realise shouldn’t have been idolised in your youth?
Cast and Creative Team
Playwright: Nikita Waldron
Director: Mehhma MalhiÂ
Producer: Zoe Hollyoak
Set & Costume Designer: Hailley Hunt
Lighting Designer: Izzy Morrissey
Sound Designer & Composer: Madeleine Picard
Stage Manager: Estelle Gomersall
Cast (of 5): Harry Stacey, Ashan Kumar, Kurt Ramjan, Esha Jessy, Nikita Waldron
