Review: 34 Scenes About the Weather

**Picture (L to R)**: Harrison Paroz, Grace Teng, Eliza Allen, and Jordan Stott (*credit: Creative Futures Photography*).

Brisbane’s theatre-making team, Lunch Friend, has created an interesting show that turns the ‘age-old small-talk starter’ into an exploration as to how weather affects us all—thanks to the work of 36 emerging and established writers, and the skills of 4 talented actors (Eliza Allen, Harrison Paroz, Jordan Stott, and Grace Teng).

Congratulations to everyone involved in producing this interesting and well-executed idea (Jordon Riley, Director and Producer; Blake Hohenhaus, Dramaturg and Producer). As you might expect from the description, some of the scenes worked better than others. However, audience members remained engaged throughout the 34-scene 100-minute show—which is a testament to the excellent work by the director, dramaturg, playwrights, and actors. And the weather machine, of course.

34 Scenes About the Weather has an enjoyable variety in pace and style of writing. The first scene was a great way to start the show: Dilroop Khangura’s I Wanna Eat the Sun was poignant and funny, with a great comic performance by Harrison Paroz. And then we were taken through a raft of emotions, and types of weather, that included the charming breakup scene (Zoë Schramm’s Shoebox), and the entertaining Windy Day at the Beach where Lewis Treston, writing in collaboration with Chat GPT, created a character role that Jordan Stott clearly enjoyed playing. I loved the humour and dance moves in El Waddingham’s bus stop Rain (The Great Equalizer), and particularly enjoyed Sarah Esser’s Make It Count, which was a charming ‘duet’ between Eliza Allen and Harrison Paroz. Rain was a definite preoccupation of the writers in this show, including memorable scenes written by Tristan Niemi (Soon it's Gonna Rain) and by Lucas Stibbard (A Game for Four Players).

A number of the playwrights addressed concerns about the impact of climate change, including Maddi Jane Römck’s short Climate Cruise and Ma-Janneh Miller’s Riot Weather. My two personal highlights of the whole show for me also touched on human impacts. Favourite scene number one was Scott Alderdice’s amusing and glorious Once Were Dragons: beautifully performed by Allen and Paroz, where the frilled lizard accessories and use of the sofa with a black cloth were perfect. Favourite scene number two was David Burton’s A Secular Liturgy for the End of the World: great writing, an excellent use of the audience and space, and the moving inclusion of composer Ralph Vaughan Williams’ A Lark Ascending, where the rainwater ‘blessing’ was a nice touch.

34 Scenes About The Weather is a terrific concept, presented in an appropriate outdoor setting (excellent set choices by Alex Riley) and featuring four talented actors. I hope that this extended audition piece, showcasing their comic and performance talents, results in some interesting future opportunities for all four—in particular for Allen and Paroz. I am also delighted that I saw the ‘relaxed’ 4pm performance; the falling light and birdlife added to the experience, and I also saw how well the space was lit once darkness fell. My suggestions for future development would be to consider editing the work slightly, as it just felt as if it was a few scenes too long. Perhaps a slight rejig in the ordering of scenes also, as I felt that Burton’s Liturgy would have been a good place to end the show, providing a clearer ‘final scene’ signal to the audience.

I always find overheard ‘walk out’ conversations good indicators as to the success of show. On 21 May, exit chatter included debates about preferred scenes and lots of ‘it’s freezing’ comments—proving that the Lunch Friend creatives are correct that we are all always talking about the weather!

Verdict: Looking forward to seeing future work by Lunch Friend, and the cast of 34 Scenes About the Weather: an interesting and well-executed concept that makes for an entertaining evening (and incredible value at less than $1 per scene!).

Catherine Lawrence

**Picture**: The Bund1 setting for *34 Scenes About The Weather* (*credit: Creative Futures Photography*).

Audience tip: 34 Scenes About the Weather was at The Paint Factory, Yeronga (19-21 May, 2023). 100 minutes, no interval. Occasional coarse language (I suggest 12+). The show was performed in Bund1, which is outside; audience members were encouraged to dress appropriately (blankets optional). Tickets $30 (general admission), Free street parking available.

The reviewer attended the 21 May 2023 4pm relaxed performance.

Geoff Lawrence