Presented by Bub
A rollicking good time awaits as the wild heat of schoolies on the Gold Coast is brought to Belvoir’s 25A theatre in this outrageous tragicomedy
Reviewed by Justin Clarke
Downstairs Theatre, Belvoir St
Until 21st December, 2024
Tickets: https://belvoir.com.au/productions/hot-tub/
Ahh schoolies. The rite of passage that crosses our paths after finishing thirteen years of education, schooling, and puberty. With thousands of relieved young adults flocking to the party spots on Australia’s east coast and beyond, there’s no better time to indulge in a tragicomedy of depraved, outrageous caricatures in Lewis Treston’s Hot Tub.
Hot Tub playfully pushes the boundaries of taste in the theatrical realm, but does it all with a cheeky smile and dramatic flair that reeks of vodka cruisers and jelly shots. Long thought too outrageous and expensive for producers to dream of tackling, Belvoir 25A seems the perfect opportunity to play around with a tight budget, requiring resourcefulness and connections to bring the heat of Queensland’s Gold Coast to the downstairs theatre.
Grace Deacon’s set design utilises a bright blue painted set and large neon orange sign of ‘The Great White’, blasting you in the face as soon as you enter. Hidden beneath the raised steps along the back wall lies hidden features that playfully reveal themselves throughout the two acts. I shan’t spoil it here.
Riley Spadaro’s direction harnesses Deacon’s creativity to bring the highrises of the Gold Coast to the intimate space as we follow Dido Hunter (Melissa Kahraman), a daughter of a divorced family whose sought out her estranged gambling-addicted father, Murray Hunter (Kieran McGrath), to borrow 32 big ones for a weight loss surgery in Brazil. Dido comes up empty and so turns to her step-brother, the colourfully cunning Reese White (Jack Calver) to find a new source of income in the online world where men ask for…well, a lot of things in exchange for money.
The tongue is very firmly in the cheek within Treston’s play
Meanwhile, a PTSD-riddled Officer Sheryl (a scene stealing Ella Prince) lurks around the beaches, snooping into the Hunter’s matriarch, Eunice White’s (Diane Smith), role in a criminal investigation involving the leader of the local bikie gang (Patrick Jhanur). Forced to choose between settling her debts by selling the family real estate, or fleeing for a life on the run, chaos ensues, blood is spilled, and this modern-day fable points a dildo-shaped finger at the upper echelon of society who will do anything to keep their slice of paradise on the beaches of Australia’s shoreline.
The tongue is very firmly in the cheek within Treston’s play, with most of the characters varying in dizzying heights in their frivolity and insanity. Throughout the mayhem and scantily clad hubris on display, Spadaro finds depth in the father/daughter relationship at the heart of the piece. Kahraman and McGrath bounce off each other with ease, through yelling matches and awkwardly squeezed hot tub conversations; at the end there’s a yearning for familial connection and meaning to be found.
Kahraman’s foul mouthed brooding teenager is a strong anchor around which the high-flying action takes place. Whether it’s devouring some mie goreng or revelling in a rendition of Chapelle Roan’s ‘Good Luck Babe’, Kahraman reveals a tenderness to Dido underneath the rough ocker exterior.
Throughout, we’re given a variety of characters to love to hate, or characters so erratic, you can’t help but be captivated by them. Shannon Ryan’s psychically inclined Jade Hunter-White would fit into an episode of The Real Housewives of Surfers Paradise with her tarot spouting ludicracy and willingness to undergo excessive metaphysical treatments. Meanwhile, Prince’s haunched stepping Officer brings a fragility that sits underneath the erratically moving, dutiful outside of the law enforcer containing the masses of sexed up teenagers.
From the moment you step through the doors of the downstairs theatre, a stamp laid upon your wrist, the thumping soundscape from Madeleine Picard tells you what to prepare for. If you want a script layered with a heft of social commentary and deeply rich, grounded performances, head upstairs for August: Osage County. If you’re willing to leave your sceptical critique at the door, you’ll be thrown into a world of unwitting justice, double crosses and characters who revel in their gross negligence of morals and decency…and it’s damn good fun, babe!
Cast
Melissa Kahraman Dido Hunter
Kieran McGrath Murray Hunter
Diane Smith Eunice White
Shannon Ryan Jade Hunter-White
Jack Calver Reese White
Patrick Jhanur Macka
Ella Prince Officer Sheryl
Creatives
Lewis Treston – Writer
Riley Spadaro – Director
Grace Deacon – Set and Costume Designer
Phoebe Pilcher – Lighting Designer
Madeleine Picard – Composer and Sound Designer
Gareth Simmonds – Production Manager
4 Responses
Absolutely terrible play.
What the creative team did to take it off paper was commendable here
The schoolies tag line is somewhat misleading but I suppose might entice some to go see this play. You can see why it won the Patrick White playwriting award as there is some deep writing about family etc in the maxed out surface outrageousness of the crazy plot. Great entertainment compared to the “pure theatre” experience of Osage County upstairs. PTSD Officer Sheryl is indeed a standout. Easily best $25 theatre value in Sydney, as always with 25A productions
Definitely agree about the schoolies tag, more of a hook and less of the revolving central plot point as you said. Emotional whiplash going upstairs to downstairs, but well worth it!