Melbourne Reviews

Closer is a tale about the menacing side of romance, with all its desires, guiles, and betrayal. 

Patrick Marber's Closer carves out the subterranean recesses of modern relationships, dissecting the notion and sex, toying with the concept of deception, and reversing the mantra in which honesty is always the best policy.  

Closer tells the story of four people whose lives become intertwined as a result of their romantic relationships. It all begins with a pivotal near-accident in which Alice and Dan first meet. Dan is an obituary writer who yearns to be a full fledged novelist. When he meets Alice, he is enthralled by her beauty and her life as a stripper. Dan begins a relationship with Alice, and covetously appropriates her life story for his novel. In so doing he meets photographer Anna, inadvertently setting her up with dermatologist Larry by way of an internet chat room prank. As the play unravels, Dan falls in love with and pursues Anna, instigating a web of deception, jealousy and revenge which ensnares them all. 

The quartet of characters in Closer, Dan, Anna, Alice and Larry are played respectively by David Kambouris, Amanda Kingston, Lily Hall and James Taylor. Patrick Marber's witty and razor-edged dialogue revealingly stings as a commentary on the state of modern romance and the condition of mens and women's hearts. Closer contains a perfectly pitched collision of comedy and drama which lightens the sometimes sordid realities which encircle the characters throughout the play.

Marber's structurally intense writing is inventively transposed for the stage by director Beng Oh. Blank white walls are transformed into computer monitors onto which are projected the details of chat room conversations, while elevated blocks are converted into beds and podiums. Conversations between various characters are also embedded into scenes, juxtaposing each character's version of the truth against the reality of the present.

TaDaa Productions selected Marber's Closer for its capacity to appeal to the everyday audience by revealing the grotesque motives which sometimes invade our relationships. Ultimately, Closer is a play about being caught in the undertow of romance.


TaDaa Productions present
Closer
by Patrick Marber

Venue: Brightspace, 1st Floor, 8 Martin Street, St Kilda
Dates: 11 - 27 July 2008
Times: Fridays and Saturdays 8.30pm; Sundays 6.00pm
Tickets: $25 Adult and $20 Concession
Bookings: 03 9593 9366
Blog: closer-brightspace.blogspot.com