Review: Almost, Maine
Pictured (L to R): Ginette (Tiarne Anderson) and Pete (Jesse Pinkowski). Image Credit: Creative Futures Photography.
The Introspect Theatre Company team (led by Cindy Sykes, Artistic Director) made a great choice in selecting Almost, Maine for their 2022 Season, and I’m grateful for the introduction to a work I hadn’t seen before.
A single Friday night, in Maine’s aptly named mythical ‘almost town’ of Almost, is the setting for John Cariani’s episodic and slightly surreal play. Touching on the various the delights and trials of falling in and out of love, the play incorporates occasional, slightly surreal, twists—possibly linked to the mystical Northern Lights, or is it just the ‘life-altering power of the human heart’?
Almost, Maine is a good choice for an amateur theatre company: there are 18 characters (which can be portrayed by 6 or more actors), who perform 9 short plays (11 scenes in total, most of which are ‘duets’). A light, romantic comedy, the ‘plays’/scenes have three common threads: the place (Almost, Maine), relationships between couples (falling in an out of love), and a single Friday night.
This is a beautifully-crafted play, and I loved the way in which the prologue and epilogue neatly tied together ideas about ways in which couples can be closer by being further apart and—to quote from Introspect Theatre’s promotional material—provokes reflections on how ‘relationships end, begin, or change beyond recognition, as strangers become friends, friends become lovers, and lovers turn into strangers.’ I really enjoyed the way in which the Director approached the text and brought the key themes to light, and was also surprised to discover that this was the first time in the director’s chair for Robyn Nicolson. A solid directorial debut, that also included strong performances by Nicolson as Glory, Gayle, and Marci (where my favourite of Nicolson’s characters was Glory, the visitor with the heart in need of repair).
Each of the six actors played three different characters. I particularly enjoyed ‘Seeing the Thing,’ which was a well-worked duet where Rhonda (Szonja Meszaros) took some time to identify the heart painted by Dave (Jesse Pinkowski); great comic timing by the patient Dave (Pinkowski), thanks to the hard-working ‘comedic foil’ (Meszaros). ‘They Fell’ is perhaps one of the more surreal scenes in the play—where falling in love is implied (or is it resisted?) when the actors repeatedly fall down as emotions are declared—so congratulations Juwan Sykes (Randy) and Ashley Coyte (Chad), for making this work.
Pictured (L to R): Gayle (Robyn Nicolson) and East (Ashley Coyte). Image Credit: Creative Futures Photography.
Pictured (L to R): Marvalyn (Tiarne Anderson) and Steve (Ashley Coyte). Image Credit: Creative Futures Photography.
My favourite scene of the production was ‘Getting it Back;’ not only a clever twist on the idea of ‘giving love,’ but also beautifully portrayed by Gayle (Nicolson) and Lendall (Pinkowski). And the audience seemed to be with me in this choice, as the scene induced audience confusion and humour (could someone really bring back large bags of returned love?), and a closing ‘ahh’ of patron satisfaction (as the proposal was duly accepted). But no review would be complete without praising charming ‘This Hurts,’ which included impressive slapstick work that drew gasps from the audience when Marvalyn (Tiarne Anderson) manipulated the ironing board during the scene with Steve (Coyte).
Sadly, I can’t recommend that readers go to see this production as I saw the closing performance. However, if Introspect Theatre decided to bring Almost, Maine back to the stage, I have a few suggestions. Firstly, I’d love to have seen the play ‘in the round,’ which might establish a sense of the audience being in the ‘almost town’ and would create a more intimate experience of the play for the audience. Secondly, I think the show would have worked with having different parts of the single set for each story (whether in the round, or with the selected framed proscenium arch)—as a single setting would allow for faster switching between each scene, and more simply establish Almost as a small place/township. Finally, I have said before that I prefer actors not to use radio mics, as this does create a distancing when the sound doesn’t come directly from the person but from a speaker located above the stage.
Verdict: A strong directorial debut, and enjoyable romantic comedy.
Curtain Call, Pictured (L to R): Ashley Coyte, Jesse Pinkowski, Robyn Nicolson, Juwan Sykes, Szonja Meszaros, and Tiarne Anderson. Image Credit: Creative Futures Photography.(Tiarne Anderson)
Audience Information: Audience Information: Introspect Theatre Company's Almost, Maine had only four performances (1,2,8, and 9 October). 90 minutes (plus 10 minute interval). All ages (10+ recommended). All seats give a great view, and I’d recommend the more comfortable raked seating (aim for rows F-J). The performance space at the Northpine Christian College is toward the back of the campus, a few minutes’ walk from the main entrance carpark (29 Hughes Road East, Dakabin QLD 4503).
The reviewer attended the Introspect Theatre Company's closing night performance (6pm, Sunday 9 October, 2022).