For those of us familiar with the politics, humour and occasional romance of the office, ‘Pass the Stapler’ provides welcome light relief after a long day immersed in our own corporate tussles, without excluding the rest of the audience. ‘Pass the Stapler’ is a snappy, witty, well-written and directed, which kept the small audience in the Old Council Chambers at Trades Hall entertained throughout.
Liam is a cynic. He is primarily cynical about romance, and his ability to allow it to enter his life, and about his competency in combating the inevitable office politics in his working life. From the first scene of the play where Liam tries out possibly the worst pickup line ever conceived with leggy brunette Sonia: “How was your day? Did you have a good day? It’s good to have a good day . . . would you like have a good night?” It is clear that Liam’s attempts at romance are half-hearted at best. When the object of this awkward attempt turns up at his workplace as the new IT employee, the sordid layers of office intrigue begin to unfold.
Liam’s HR manager, Fiona, is having an with incompetent, porn-obsessed, married-with-two-children Harvey; Fiona’s friend Emily plays mind games with her husband to keep him on his toes; and office ditz Allison attempts to snare the nephew of the CEO. To top it all off, the company’s financial imperatives threaten to disrupt these personal intrigues; either Harvey or Liam must go.
‘Blue Chair TheatreWorks’ is the brainchild of Allan Kerr and Kylie Trask. It is a local theatre company, which produces both classic works, recently including the Greek tragedy Antigone, and original works such as ‘Pass the Stapler,’ which was written and directed by Allan, and produced by both Allan and Kylie.
Due to the small venue, the audience gained a sense of involvement in the story, which can sometimes be entirely lost in larger venues. The small stage, with its one permanent set, was used in its entirety, showing a great understanding of the use of theatrical space; scene changes were smooth (apart from the occasional tripping-over in the darkness). Despite the proximity of the audience, the actors were able to ignore the laughter and reactions of the audience, which surely would have been distracting.
Many of the cast are fledgling actors, and all performed admirably, obviously enjoying both their characters and the play itself. Standout performances were by Justin Bechtold as the ultra-cynical Liam, and Georgina Durham as the over-the-top Allison Baker. Bechtold and Kate Buttery (as Liam’s best-friend Laura) had a lovely rapport, making the explication of some crucial character building feel very natural, where it perhaps could have felt quite deliberately structured.
In all, the cast seemed very comfortable with each other, creating an intimate and extremely enjoyable experience for the audience. ‘Blue Chair TheatreWorks’ next work, Overnight, will be playing at the Twentieth Melbourne Fringe Festival in September/October this year.