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Fred Company: QTC Cast: Rebecca Dale, Joss McWilliam, Jean-Marc Russ, Madonna Rhodes, Paul Denny, Daniel Adler and Caroline Kennison Director: Michael Gow
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Death in the suburbs After
several seasons of relatively unadventurous work, the Queensland Theatre
Company is starting to hit full stride under director Michael Gow. Fred,
the QTC's new The play begins as a sort of whodunit. A body is found under the Hills hoist in a Sydney suburb. The young woman who discovers it, Pamela (Rebecca Dale) dubs it Fred, as the police are at a loss to identify the dead person. Soon, more bodies are discovered. But just when you think you're in for a police thriller, Christian takes off in an entirely different direction. She wants the audience to contemplate the perilousness of existence; to examine the nature of grief and its consequences on our lives and relationships. >>>
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But, surprisingly, this is achieved through comedy (sometimes farce) as the seven characters are caught up in frenzied activity involving sibling rivalry, Egyptian thugs, papal condoms, infidelity, Bob Dylan, relationship breakdowns and Monte Carlos. Certainly, this is not the easiest play to follow, with its fractured timelines and lack of obvious links between scenes. But it is a work of considerable depth and, at times, grace. The
mostly young cast bring vitality to the material. The ensemble move through
the scenarios with an energy and enthusiasm that's hard to fault. Joss
McWilliam is hilariously A challenging, sometimes oblique, often hilarious romp through life's fundamental questions, Fred is a play to be experienced rather than academically "understood" - catch it while you can. David Edwards
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play, was written by hot playwright Beatrix Christian and couldn't be
further from your "traditional" QTC production. It's a pop culture existential
drama - Friends meets Jean-Paul Sartre if you like - with a fresh young
cast and a decidedly unconventional outlook. 
deadpan
as a straight shooting policeman, Rebecca Dale gives Pamela a waif-like
quality and Paul Denny is wonderfully sleazy as a used car salesman.
In the least comic part, Caroline Kennison makes her businesswoman Antoinette
(who seeks in vain to have a baby) achingly real. Probably the standout
though is Jean-Marc Russ as Miles, a gay doctor for whom death is an everyday
occurrence. Special mention should also be made of the intriguing set
design at QPAC's Cremorne Theatre. What seems initially to be a jumble
of differing styles actually works beautifully with the material.