Lobby Hero
The Sunday Age
Sunday June 7, 2009
LOBBY HEROBy Red Stitch Actors Theatre. Rear 2 Chapel St, St Kilda. Friday until July 11. $34-$20. Tel: 9533 8083The folks at Red Stitch have developed a keen nose for tracking down a certain kind of script - as the name implies, the "actor's" play is where they excel. Usually sourced from Britain and the US, the company allows its members to sniff out works from around the world before deciding on its annual season. It shouldn't be a shock to discover that the Red Stitch calendar usually comprises plays that would appeal to an actor, then. Playwright Kenneth Lonergan writes the kind of script an actor loves - his This Is Our Youth enjoyed a successful production from another actor-led company earlier this year, and Lonergan's Lobby Hero sounds like an even more audience-friendly number. A hapless security guard in a high-rise building is embroiled in a murder investigation that stretches his loyalties; a police duo pace a brilliant pas de deux of morality and justice. Cop drama meets underdog comedy? Sounds like a hero.
© 2009 The Sunday Age