Reviewed by Jordan D'Arcy
The world premiere of At Home With the Sheridans is showing in a quaint space at Ed’z Sports Bar in Hamilton Hill until the 27th of May. The show is a product of the mind of local playwright Yvette Wall and is set in a well-off suburb of Perth, where Mr and Mrs Sheridan live. The plot revolves around two burglars that get a little too comfy in the home they are robbing and are disturbed when the Sheridans come home.
The clever use of a non-traditional space really allowed the audience to feel as if they were simply on the other side of the room from the action on stage. The lounge room of the Sheridans’ house had been built into, rather than onto, the space, which certainly added to that effect. Additionally, the minimal sound effects were very cleverly engineered. The only sounds were that of a car returning to the home and an outside gate opening and closing, and the sound physically came from behind the audience, which gave the impression that Mrs Sheridan was genuinely coming home.
Phil Barnett was particularly engaging in portraying the emotional growth of the character Jake throughout the play. Sarah Christener was very relatable as the clumsy and nervous newbie burglar, Marilyn. Chris Thomas and Sherrilee Walsh were a very believable golden triangle couple, hiding their rocky marriage from the public. Melissa Humphries provided a sweet juxtaposition in her portrayal of Zoe, the naïve mistress.
Much as with any new script, it would be wonderful to see this script further work-shopped and developed. Although the social commentary on the class system we have in Australia was poignant (it certainly landed well with the audience, in particular the punchlines directed at Perth’s quirks), some of the other commentaries felt quite heavy-handed, and, at times, a bit gratuitous – such as the domestic violence and therapy subplots.
At Home With the Sheridans is a little slice of life that is fun and relatable to a Perth audience. A note in the program calls the process of making this show come to life “an experiment” and, overall, it seems it has been a successful one.
Reviewer Note: Tickets for this review were provided by the theatre company.
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