Wine Lips Review

Wine lips opens with Brit, a classy, semi-big shot celebrity gal who has worked her way up from stage to screen. She returns to one of her old haunts for a drink with Scotty, a down on his luck Director who is thinking of throwing in the theatre towel for good. Oh and he’s Brit’s ex lover. Set backstage at one of Scotty’s shows (a solo feature called ‘Boy-lesque’ – hilarity) the basement theatre’s own backstage serves as the perfect location for this comedic three hander with the audience wedged right up in the actors’ personal space.

Various bottles of wine flow, and the history of Scotty and Brit is relayed inbetween dealing with technical difficulties suffered by Max (Geordie Holibar), Scotty’s cross-dressing lead. Max frequently interrupts the former couple as they argue, fight and embrace their way through the highs and lows of their former relationship. Max represents the awkwardness we’ve all felt after walking in on the aftermath of a domestic.

The dialogue is witty and realistically Kiwi. Everything from the horrors of flatting, living on $13.50 a week, long distance relationships, Australia, in-jokes about basement theatre staff and procedures aswell as gayness, are covered with frankness and charm.

Referring to everyday people as ‘normals’ seems like a new form of prejudiced, but is funny nonetheless. The bearded ginger Nic Sampson inhibits Scotty with relatable characteristics. He worries about whether he is getting a bit pudgy round the gut, and is tossing up whether he should take a job his dad is offering him. All the while he is contending with the impending dilemma of whether he should repair broken bridges with Brit.

Chelsea McEwan Millar showcases a range of emotions as Brit. When we first meet her she feels like a classy dame resting on laurels, but her spotlight exterior soon cracks to reveal someone more fragile as Scotty peels back the layers with skilful style. The presentation of the leads and their delivery is so natural it’s hard to tell where the acting ended and the real people behind the characters began.

Sam Brooks deserves credit for his directing too. Clearly a lot of time and dedication was spent nailing down each character’s nuances as well as timing the jokes perfectly.Even though it lacks a conventional stage, Wine Lips is more than capable of generating plenty of laughs.

Wine Lips is a tidy and funny little piece of theatre showcasing the twisting paths throughout the acting world, with excellent homegrown talent.

Wine Lips is on at Basement Theatre until 30 August.

Reviewed by Nicholas Brookland

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