To quote Bette Davis: “Fasten your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy night”!
Presented by: State Theatre Company South Australia
Reviewed: 25 August 2026
When you give a director, Petra Kalive, a shiny, bright new script to work with by award winning playwright Ash Flanders and 5 actors who aren’t afraid of a challenge, you get something as wonderful as Commentary.
I am so tempted to tell the story of this 90 minutes of some of the wittiest, sparkly and vindictive text you could give a bunch of creatives to work with, but I would spoil a really good night out in the theatre.
Gyton Grantley grabs the leading protagonist Nick by the proverbials as he is shaken, stirred, and thrown in the washing machine by the women in his life Mish and Anna (Anna Steen), Clea and Saskia (Kate Cheel), Gen and Frankie (Shardee Santos), and Jessica (Ruby Patrich).
This is such a wonder of a piece of work as it bobs and weaves its way through a story that at times leaves you wondering how on earth the story could get any more complicated than it does.
Grantley is in his element as he tries to circumnavigate a situation brought about by the resurrection of his first film. He revels in the thought his work will be brought to life again years later as he is languishing in a university teaching film. His wife (Steen) is a successful TV producer, his girlfriend (Santos), one of his students, the person producing the film festival Saskia (Cheel) an ex-student, the star of his first film Clea (Cheel) now a Hollywood TV star, all become the combined forces that deliver his destruction as circumstances combine to tear his life apart while he can do nothing to stop it. The podcaster (Steen) and the teenager (Santos) combine to make twists, turns emotional car crashes, moments of fluid understanding and then plot twists that are so unexpected you find yourself torn between being horrified and a need to laugh out loud.
The characters are so finely drawn they are wonderful to watch. Special mention for Cheel’s Clea. The first appearance is everything a great comic moment offers an actor and she nails it. Mind you, there are moments from every actor that are a masterclass in acting.
Then there’s the villain of the piece, or do I mean the hero of the piece, the one you never get to see but is always there – you’ll just have to go and see it. I’ve given too much of the plot away already!
The up-to-date modern context of this beautifully written and cleverly contextualised piece of work is as refreshing as it is exciting. Witty, sharp, vicious and very entertaining. It doesn’t miss a beat in revealing, criticising, and using every modern day social intercourse we are exposed to.
Please do not miss this 90 minute journey filled with love, laughter, shame, discomfort, disbelief – how many more superlatives can I muster?
Well, let’s finish off with the design. Matilda Woodroofe has created an environment that is angular, edgy, and versatile, allowing the action to run smoothly from environment to environment with ease and pace. Costuming is really well thought through, the many onstage changes flawless. The incorporation of parts of the set as screens – genius. Matt Byrne’s video is very clever and the use of that wonderful modern invention Zoom added a grotesque humour to some of the more challenging work. Nic Mollison’s lighting design is, as always, complimentary to the journey and the story. Dan Thorpe’s music and sound/ video design is so integrated it becomes another actor in the piece. The backstage creative team on this one have worked their socks off to create the foundation for this exciting piece of up-to-date theatre.
We have a really active, alive, and aware State Theatre Company, and bravo to Petra Kalive for showcasing a piece of writing from a writer we will be seeing a lot more of, with a cast and crew that are exciting, innovative and talented.
More please.
Reviewed by Adrian Barnes
Photo credit: Matt Byrne
Venue: Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre
Season: August 25 – September 5, 2026
Duration: 90 minutes, no interval
Tickets: Tickets from $79.00 (plus booking fee)
Bookings: https://my.statetheatrecompany.com.au/overview/commentary
CONTENT
Coarse language, adult themes, sexual references, partial nudity and haze.
