Standing tall

Entering La Boite theatre on Friday night was more like entering a dingy pub. You know the kind of place I mean, where your feet stick to the floor, the lighting is so dim everyone looks good, and as for the band, I guess they knew someone to get this gig.

Still Standing by playwriting duo Marjery Forde and Michael Forde is a humourous and nostalgic look at the pub band scene in Brisbane during the 80s through the eyes of one band. In 1987 the band," Gaffer", Skeeter, Brenda, Davo and Nev were going to make it big.

They didn't of course. Theirs went the way of most bands, and split up. Brenda left to become a big star overseas, Skeeter got sucked into the seedy underworld of drug dealing, Davo's habit got the better of him, and Nev, well he was left to pick up the pieces.

Fifteen years later they have reunited for the opening night of Skeeter's new club, where he hopes to bring live music back into fashion, and sort out his debt problem. Even though it has been a long time, seeing each other again reignites all their old passions and resentments. As the band complete their soundcheck (with real, live music), the story of how their dreams fell apart unfolds.

The music, which consists of mainly 80s tunes, performed by a full 4-piece band, plays an integral role in the play. I really felt as though I was at a live gig, and judging from the toe tapping, and head bopping I noticed amongst other audience members I was not alone in this feeling! The music pulls the play together, but it is the tight dialogue and raw energy of the three main actors that makes this a great theatre experience.

Particularly good is Hayden Spencer as Skeeter, the dodgy dude who has a few too many business deals going to keep his head above water, so to speak. The character is a bit of a caricature but Spencer hams it up nicely. And Barbara Fordham has a voice and stage presence that really should be fronting a band.

This play is set in Brisbane but could be adapted to any place where there is live music and small town attitudes. Full of the vernacular, and local jokes this is one gig that you'll leave feeling great, but without the beginnings of a shocker hangover.

Linden George