Ashleigh Butler, left, and Claire Imlach… kept attention glued for what they would be serve up next.
Theatre / Sauce, by Ciara Elizabeth Smyth, directed by Christopher Samuel Carroll. At Smith’s Alternative until December 15. Reviewed by ARNE SJOSTEDT
There were a few moments that lingered from this Christopher Samuel Carroll-directed production of Sauce.
An Australian premiere of the work by Irish playwright Ciara Elizabeth Smyth, it was also the first time this reviewer had encountered a character pleasure themselves to an effigy of Jesus.
Sounds out there, and in a certain respect it was. That is not to say the entire play was full of similar moments. However, it was on edge enough to give the kind of marginalised feel you go to fringe theatre to experience.
With two actors onstage the entire show, Ashleigh Butler and Claire Imlach roamed through multiple roles. Drawing out the comedy and human frailty in Smyth’s story telling, they kept attention glued for what they would be serve up next.
The story explores two women at the margins of conventional life, each grappling with their own unique personality traits and vulnerabilities, ultimately finding connection in a shared moment of uncertainty. Sauce throws the two lives together to create an entertaining, moreish concoction of mini-dramas.
This is the kind of fringe theatre you can show up to, digest like a spicy chicken satay and leave with that good feeling you’ve experienced something satisfying.
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