Review | Laura Money
Do you ever wonder what a certain outcome would be if you just chose to do x, y, z? Best friends Sarah Reuben and Jeffrey Jay Fowler are The Hypotheticals – lifelong friends who wonder what it would be like to have children. Their fierce friendship and synchronicity results in a charming and warm show and the characters you fully invest in.
Set within a frame of lights, Matthew McVeigh creates a world for the players to hypothesise and hopefully think outside the box. Fowler and Reuben move within the confines of the box, climbing and clambering over raised platforms as they explore every centimetre of their space. With movement direction by Laura Boynes the pair dance and weave a beautiful pattern in the air. The movements are gentle and hilarious in moments – both expressing their ideas through their bodies alongside dialogue.
Reuben and Fowler have gorgeous chemistry together – I know, shocker! They are so comfortable with each other they make it look easy but this work is a clever and sharply written think piece. They literally hypothesise EVERY possible scenario. Anxiety, conviction within oneself, complicated relationships with family, deep friendship with each other all combine to create a tangled mess of possibilities. That’s the whole point of hypothetical situations – you can’t ever really know how they’re going to turn out. Both parties are in their 30s and neither have children. The inevitable conversation is rendered safe between deep friendship rather than leaving them exposed at a family dinner table. They are lucky to have each other and everything is put on the table – warts and all.
The Hypotheticals is a witty and thought-provoking play about every single possibility. The performers are sharp and both hilarious and touching. It’s an eye opening insight into their thoughts and feelings writ large. One thing is for sure, Reuben and Fowler are at the top of their games – no hypothesis is necessary you will love this show!
You can hypothesise about which seat to buy at The State Theatre Centre WA until 5th August. TICKETS
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The Fourth Wall acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land we engage in storytelling on – the Wadjhuk people of the Noongar nation. We pay respects to their elders past, present, and emerging.
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