Sam Snedden, one of the "mystery dates", and Natalie Medlock in Silo Theatre's The Blind Date Project.
Five years after Natalie Medlock's character, Anna, went on a blind-date intensive, she's back in 2019 with a mission to give love another chance. This time, it's not the Basement but Q theatre's Loft that's decked out with cosy tables, a karaoke get-up and a fully functioning bar looked after
by a grim Yvette Parsons.
The premise is simple. Medlock meets someone new each night (on opening night Hayley Sproull bowls into the theatre replete with skateboard, high-vis and helmet) and explores what might happen when strangers, copious amounts of alcohol and some classic tunes are thrown into the mix.
Written by Bojana Novakovic, Mark Winter with Thomas Henning and Tanya Goldberg, the production is subtly guided through a series of text messages and phone calls that add authenticity while allowing director Sophie Roberts to shape the drama.
Medlock is an excellent performer and together with the talented Sproull we were treated to a slow but steadily growing flame, which admittedly started and sputtered, but slowly built to a crackling exchange.
Michael McCabe's set design combines elegance and functionality in equal measure and Rachel Marlow's lighting keeps our focus on our two lovers-in-waiting. Whilst the drama between Medlock and Sproull vacillated through the various shades of sharing, over-sharing, regrettable-but-not-regretted sharing, it's important to also give full credit to Yvette Parsons, Karaoke Queen, whose character holds much of the show in delicate balance.
