REVIEW: Chair Woman by The Defectors at Bread & Roses Theatre 17 - 18 October

“When the cast are having this much fun, it’s hard to resist.” ★★★

Chair Woman, the latest slapstick romp from fringe favourites The Defectors, is a rollicking mishmash of conspiracy theories, Americana, and upholstery.

When chair-padding prodigy and pageant queen Patsy Darling (Ellie Church) is made the, well, patsy for a space-age scheme to assassinate the president, she teams up with a tinfoil hat-wearing addict to save the day. The ensuing chaos takes audiences to the Pentagon, a rocket launch, Area 51, and well beyond the limits of credibility.

The four-strong cast form a capable ensemble, multirolling furiously through an ever-expanding roster of characters, each more ridiculous than the last. There is a veritable smorgasbord of accents and impressions of display, despite the fact that the American-born protagonist has apparently picked up a rock-solid English accent while studying abroad.

It’s fair to say that the script, jointly written by director James Darby with cast members Harrison Cole and Daniel Hemsley, takes a quantity-over-quality approach to punchlines. Much is made of NASA being renamed NUTSAC. Here and there, the jokes just don’t land, but nevermind! They’re on to the next one, and have five or six more where that came from. Nonetheless, the scenes are tightly choreographed and the pace never falters.

The props are imaginative and well-realised, the costumes are serviceable, the set is non-existent. The real star of the design is TJ Dudley’s videography, which skillfully parodies the milieus of much less capable filmmakers.

If you’re prepared to leave your brain at the door, you’ll have a good time at Chair Woman; when the cast are having this much fun, it’s hard to resist.

The Defectors present Chair Woman

Writers: Harrison Cole, James Darby & Daniel Hemsley

Director: James Darby

Cast: Ellie Church, Harrison Cole, Amy Cotter, Daniel Hemsley

Production Assistant: Shannon Fox