The Platypus

Look, I wanted to write something about the audience.

Sometimes in the theatre we can be guilty of producing work for ourselves rather than for our audience. I wanted to write a play for the people that go to the theatre. About their/our actual existence.

But what?

I think the most important decision we make in our life is the decision as to who will be our life partner. Of course, shall I lock the state down for two months, or do we invade Ukraine, are perhaps more far reaching decisions, but for most of us, picking our main squeeze is the big one. We tie ourselves to that one individual and commit ourselves for the rest of our lives (or until we get jack of them) to sharing resources, joys, griefs and simply experiences with them, and with them exclusively, (again, unless we’ve got some sort of thrupple going on.)

And so that’s what this play is about. Not about thrupples. I didn’t put that very well.
It’s about Richard and Jessica and the messy ending of their relationship. And whether they can put the pieces back together.

It also stars two brilliant actors, Michala Banas and John Leary. They’re at the top of their game. And they need to be because of the hoops that this play makes them jump through. And it makes them jump through some doozies. Really.

The platypus is a strange creature. It’s composed of odds and ends. As though Evolution got tired late one afternoon and stopped paying attention to what it was doing. It seems wrong somehow. Misshapen. Strangely put together. A curiosity.

Just like this play.

Please do come.
Francis Greenslade