Hysterically funny, crazy, and dark.
Once a semi-successful actor, Ronnie Lipsick is now a mediocre acting teacher with a depressed husband Cormack, one daughter Norah with cerebral palsy, and another Audrey with a constantly bellicose attitude. Ronnie has poured all her time and energy into Audrey who has the makings of an outstanding actor, but who just wants to go to Nepal and open an orphanage with her loser boyfriend. When Audrey accidentally ends up in a coma, Ronnie sees an opportunity to regain her acting momentum. Meanwhile carpenter Cormack is building cupboards for a business which makes Christian pornography, and Norah is campaigning to pursue para-Olympic fencing.
Clearly, Audrey is not the usual Australian comedy, which tends to be cute and sweet, and often pulls its punches. This is edgy, dark, hysterically funny, and goes in for the kill.
Writer Lou Sanz has crafted an intelligent, grown-up, uncompromising, script, exploring the dark humour around horrible teenage daughters, disability, sex, failure, marriage, and the acting profession itself. As great comedy should, it recognizes no sacred cows, yet manages not to descend into puerile nastiness.
Director Natalie Bailey has clearly given her actors room in which to play, whilst keeping everything tight. At the heart of the work is the outstanding ensemble. The brilliant Jackie van Beek (The Breaker-Upperers) was born to play Ronnie. Jeremy Lindsay Taylor shows his comedy chops as Cormack. Young actor Hannah Diviney is fabulous as Norah. Rounding out the cast are Josephine Blazier as Audrey, Aaron Fa’aoso, Gael Ballantyne, and Fraser Anderson.
Audrey has been given a coveted Reframe Stamp which recognizes gender-parity in hiring of cast and/or crew. It is a shining example of the vast increase in quality that happens when diversity is embraced as a strength rather than done as a chore.
One of the funniest, and most intelligent, comedies to be produced in this country in years, Audrey opens on November 7th.
