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POSTED: 24 SEPTEMBER 2011 Four Flat Whites in Italy, by Roger Hall | Directed by Sandra Bates Ensemble Theatre, Kirribilli, Sydney | Until 22 October Four Flat Whites in Italy is Roger Hall’s play about two couples holidaying in Italy. Michael Ross is Adrian our narrator, a retired librarian who is bookish and has little dress sense. His wife Alison is also a librarian — what is the collective noun for librarians? They share a love of art, literature and music and are looking forward to a cultural romp through Italy with their likeminded friends, Tim and Sheila. Only Tim breaks a limb and can’t be the designated driver. So the new next-door neighbours, retired plumber Harry and Judy, his younger, second wife, offer to join them. This is a middle-aged, middle-class caper but it is very well written. It seems quite frothy and light but it has a strong dramatic underbelly. Hall captures the concerns and angst of middle-age perfectly. He has a remarkable ear for the vernacular, which results in dialogue that is authentic and perfectly paced. The premise of the play is a collection of the usual holiday experiences — overbooked hotels, battles about budgets, diversity in cultural pursuits, shopping versus sightseeing. There are some exceptionally funny scenes which the actors enhance with their comic skills of timing and understatement. Michael Ross is excellent as the self-conscious, budget-conscious, sexually frustrated narrator. His running commentary establishes a rapport with the audience as he reflects on his new landscape and the landscape of his past tragedy. He has a remarkably easy stage presence and as an audience we warm to him instantly. As his wife, Sharon Flanagan has the pace and energy to maintain the driven, anxious, fussy wife that Alison has become. Henri Szeps as Harry is superb. His stage presence is charismatic and he displays excellent comic timing. He is a total scene-stealer in the second act. Mary Regan is solid as Judy, the unabashed, flirtatious trophy wife of Harry, as are Sara Bovolenta and Adriano Cappelletta, who play an assortment of Italian waiters and hoteliers. Great use is made of the Ensemble space by Marissa Dale-Jonson’s set design, which give the play multi-dimensions as we move from Venice to Rome to Tuscany. Enhanced by Scott Allan’s lighting design, the places did seem flooded by the European sun. At the end we finally we find out why Alison is frigid, why Adrian won’t drive, that Harry is in fact a very sophisticated man – for a plumber — and that Lynda is not just a brazen busty hussy but in fact a woman comfortable in her own skin and reluctant to pass judgement on others. There are a multitude of scenes that are sewn together seamlessly by the expert direction of Sandra Bates, who has done a remarkable job of bringing this challenging play to realisation. It is in its own way a type of social satire. The dialogue is witty, the characters are sharply drawn and there are many poignant moments as the anxieties and obsessions of middle age are unearthed. What makes this play really work is the sharing of a transformative human experience and our empathy with it. Adrian is an ‘Everyman’, an innocent abroad who experiences an expansion of his horizons and a greater understanding of his past events and their repercussions. He processes all this by sharing it honestly with the audience, resulting in an emotional payoff at the end. It really is good stuff — not for everyone but the baby boomers should enjoy it.
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All images: STEVE LUNAM
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