It’s just wicked
Theatre Review Written By: Darren Pope
Position: Arts Journalist
Program: BNews
Dated: 6th October 2005
THEY don’t call this the city of festivals for nothing. The Melbourne International Arts Festival launches this week but there are still a couple of days to catch a few pearls from Fringe Festival. Comfort Zone by Cosmic Players is one such work. Produced by play writes Darren Brealey and Stuart Pursell this fringe piece has the local theatre scene firmly in it’s sights and it pulls no punches. Funding bodies, egomaniacally artistic directors, green playwrights all get a good ribbing.
The play itself was born out of frustration of Brealey and Pursell in gaining support from the theatre industry. One slap in the face too many and they’ve put it all in a play. The end result is a thespian take in the manner of Mark Latham diaries.
The farce unfolds in the admin office of a local theatre company on the eve of news of the latest funding round. Artistic director Deirdre James is ropable to learn her sexual favours for arts funding have backfired. Not only is the Arts Minister not coming to the swish pre season launch, but also there will be no money ...more
