Irish Theatre Players One Act Season - Theatre Review

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Sun 16 Jun 2024 - Sat 22 Jun 2024

One act seasons are popular for theatre companies, as it gives them a chance to explore new show ideas along with giving new directors and actors an avenue to explore the acting craft.

June brings a one act season to Irish Theatre Players and their theatre in Subiaco. The three shows for this short season are; Kitchen written by Van Badham and directed by Fiona Cahill, The Bear by Anton Chekhov and directed by Michael McCall and finally Ashes to Dust written by local Perth playwriter Yvette Wall and directed by Sean Byrne.



First up for the evening was Kitchen, aptly set in an apartment kitchen, a two-hander starring Pamela Chang as Helene and Brian Donoghue as Owen. The premise of Kitchen is that Owen and Helene are a hard-working couple living a comfortable life. However, when Owen loses his job, the relationship devolves into something sinister when Helene demands Owen be a ‘house-husband’ since he can’t financially contribute to the household.

Honestly, I didn’t really get into this show, one acts are short and need to capture the audience quickly, and this one missed that mark. This was also not helped by the numerous, and seemingly long, scene changes. The most interesting part of this production was the unexpected ending, but good job to all involved.



Next up was The Bear which is set in a drawing room. Elena Ivanovna Popova (Edwards) is still mourning the death of her husband, some seven months after his passing, and refuses to leave her house or entertain guests, despite the pleas of her faithful footman Luka (Robert McDonough). However, her day of grief is rudely interrupted by Grigory Stepanovitch Smirnov (Shivas Lindsay) who demands payment of monies owed and refuses to leave until payment is made. Elena and Grigory have an extensive heated exchange as both stand their ground, Elena is without the funds to pay and Grigory not wanting to leave without it.

I did see a version of The Bear many years ago, and it was very different to this version. Grace and Shivas were both outstanding and believable in their roles, especially with the range of emotions each goes through during the one act. The setting, while simple, was very effective in setting the scene, anything more would have been unnecessarily clunky. This show had me captured from start to finish, great job everyone.



Following a short interval was the final show of the night Ashes to Dust, set in a house in modern-day Perth. Catherine (Watson) arrives at her mum’s home late morning on the day they are set to scatter her father’s ashes. Enter Lydia (McKechnie) her slightly hungover mother, who really doesn’t want to go out. Hearing strange noises, Catherine heads into the bedroom to find Dhavit (Michael Balmer) mum’s ‘hook-up’ from the night before. What transpires is a hilarious story on the trials and tribulations of marriage and cricket, also starring Rohann Coffey as Kevin, Catherine’s husband.

This was a very funny end to the evening and a very relatable modern story. All the actors were very believable and it was very hard not to laugh at the calamity of things happening on stage, Dhavit’s insights into the lives of these people he’s just met and especially with what happens to poor dad’s ashes! Well done to all, especially Kerry in her acting debut.

This was a wonderful night out with a good variety of shows that will appeal to a wide range of audience members. By the time this review is published, there may just be one show left on Saturday 22 June at 7.30pm. If you want to (and can) get along to see, tickets can be booked here .

Photos are from the Irish Theatre Players Facebook page, taken by Vincent Trikeriotis Photography.

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