30 July - 10 August 2014
Three actors are tasked with the goal of presenting a precise and unbiased theatrical portrait of John McEnroe. They fail.
I HEART JOHN MCENROE is an existential romp that reminds us how deeply alone we all are.
If homophobia, systemic misogyny and people walking three astride on a footpath make you angry then you simply must join us. There will be short shorts, there will be sweatbands and there will be racquets thrown… hard.
“From the wacky funsters at Uninvited Guests comes I Heart John McEnroe, a playful piece of devised theatre that is, at least superficially, a biographical tribute to the bad boy of ’80s tennis… Director Clare Watson’s clever, game-like approach has developed a consistently entertaining style of performance full of visual and dramatic surprises, played out against a nostalgia-riddled, dog-eat-dog sound design from Jethro Woodward. It’s great fun.”
THE AGE
“Do not be mistaken. This is not a show about John McEnroe. It’s not even, really, a show about rage. (After all, how would you examine an emotion without any context of its origin?) This is, like all good theatre, a show about people. About how we evaluate each other, how we manipulate each other to suit our means and how quickly we can become ridiculous and childish in the face of defeat… I Heart John McEnroe is an entertaining, insightful piece of theatre. It is well realised and left the audience laughing, thinking and ultimately satisfied.”
ARTS REVIEW
“The adult actors shift from playing McEnroe to playing themselves as they confront their own anger or taunt other actors to trigger angry outbursts in each other. The cruel, personal teasing sparks a comically sulky scene from Mullins, who is hassled for not being masculine enough to play McEnroe. In a later scene, LaBonte deals with racial slurs from McEnroe’s celebrity friends when he plays African-American tennis player Arthur Ash… There are very funny moments, including Herbert’s hilarious depiction of Tatum O’Neill, McEnroe’s young wife, crawling along the tennis court white lines as if snorting cocaine. Tonkin is pregnant (in real life), which provides plenty of comic mileage, including Herbert hurtling on stage to be Tonkin’s mistreated but relentlessly cheerful substitute in any vigorous choreography.”
THE HERALD SUN
Written and Created by
CLARE WATSON
Co-Creators
LUKE MULLINS, KATHERINE TONKIN
Dramaturged by
DECLAN GREENE
Designed
JONATHON OXLADE
Lighting Design
RICHARD VABRE
Sound Designer and Composer
KELLY RYALL
Performed by
LUKE MULLINS, KATHERINE TONKIN