Presented by Blue Sky Theatre Productions
Reviewed 25 July 2025
Alan Ayckbourn is a master playwright, He’s been at it a while and has honed his craft to perfection. His plays have garnered critical acclaim worldwide and you can depend on Ayckbourn for a truly entertaining and sometimes heartbreaking night in the theatre.
Dave Simms has produced and directed Arrivals and Departures for yet another quality Blue Sky Theatre production. It takes clever actors and a gifted director to turn an empty space into multiple playing states with just a couple of large ottomans, some very clever lighting and 12 good actors.
This is a play about consequences and how life can change at the drop of a hat. From the moment the play starts we know we are in for a treat as Quentin Sexton, crafted to perfection in the hands of Joshua Coldwell, leads his band of merry secret agents into a world brimming with the tongue in cheek humour so brilliantly written in an Ayckbourn play. Don’t be deceived by the opening hilarity and cod acting, it’s the set up for a beautifully crafted piece of work about the life journey of two people thrown the sort of challenges in life that are funny, sad, confronting and dangerously true to life.
The array of characters portrayed by Claire Keen, Millie Fagan, Zoe Battersby, Paul Pacillo, Leighton Vogt, Gabe Mangelsdorf, Steve Marvanek, Rachel Dalton and Finty McBain have to be seen to be believed. They move seamlessly between characters with ease and flawless character changes. Not once was there any confusion in the plot or the story, a truly magical outcome for all the work that has gone into the performance. The plot shifts, changes and swaps around but this diligent and gifted cast never let you get lost as they tell their stories that revolve around the central character of Ez Swain, played with saturnine dexterity by Emily Currie, and Barry Hawkins, brought brilliantly to life by Nick Fagan.
Currie, Fagan and Coldwell are in the driving seat for this work and they drive the vehicle with precision and so much heart. They are flawed characters that move through life in a series of events that flow seamlessly out of the action of the story. This builds a world for us to experience which allows our imagination to fill in the gaps. It is a clever, dynamic and challenging set of circumstances brought to life by the stories that get told, filling in the background of their lives.
It’s another Blue Sky production that shouldn’t be missed. So get yourself down to the Domain Theatre in the Marion Cultural Centre and experience the magic created by another beautifully crafted piece of work from the pen of Alan Ayckbourn and the talented cast of Arrivals and Departures under the ever watchful eye of Dave Simms. You really don’t want to miss this one.
Reviewed by Adrian Barnes
Photo credit: supplied
Venue: Marion Domain Theatre
Season: 25 July – 3 August, 2025
Duration: 2 hours 10 minutes (incl. interval)
Tickets: A$40 / C$35 (plus booking fee)
Bookings: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1392756
