Thought provoking theatre keeps audience spellbound

Kim Wright and Lynda Corner in a scene from The Hotel. Photo Supplied

■The Motel
By April Phillips
Directed by Andrea Vernik-Taaffe
The Playhouse, Hastings
Runs until September 10
Reviewed by Linda Hall

Although there was only a small audience at the final dress rehearsal of The Motel on Thursday night, the utter silence and stillness from those present showed how they were hanging on every word from the cast.

Theatre Hawke's Bay has done itself proud with this little beauty.
The set is a cheap motel room with formica furniture, a bright purple candlewick bedspread and a faulty light in the bathroom.

It's here that four stories unfold in front of the audience. The hotel manager, played by Neil McCorkell, was superb. His sloppy appearance and couldn't-give-a-hoot attitude was spot on. Although he appears in all four sets, he plays a large part in the third.
The first set was Jenny (Clair Rochester) and Ben (Cam Lithgow).

Jenny arrives in a dress and high heels and phones for a man. Enter Ben who wants to immediately get down to business but Jenny keeps backing away.
Finally it's done and there are tears and accusations from both sides. Rochester played her emotional part well. I felt sorry for her.

At first I thought Lithgow could have played up his gigolo character a bit more but at the end you understand why he didn't.

The second set was very sombre. Seconds after arriving at the motel Harry (Steve Driver) is in pain, clutching his stomach. His wife, Pearl (Verona Nicholson) is in a dither. She's obliviously on edge and skitters about helping her husband, and making tea.

They make calls to their children telling them they love them. The underlying message I got from this was to spend more time with your family. It's a powerful set, especially the ending when you could have heard a pin drop in the theatre. Both actors played their parts with feeling.

Next we meet Elvis (Glen Pickering). Elvis is a travelling salesman. He's been on the road for years. It's here we get to know the hotel manager a bit better as he invites himself in for a beer and proceeds to verbally trash poor old Elvis' life.

Lots of laughter in this set but also an underlying message.
The final set was my favourite. Both cast members played their parts with attitude.

Annabel (Kim Wright) arrives at the motel in high spirits. She's ready for some action and changes into a saucy little number before texting her lover. There's a knock at the door and she dives on the bed in a sexy pose and invites her caller in. Only the caller is not her lover, it's Janet (Lynda Corner) her lover's wife. Initially, I felt sorry for the poor wife with a cheating husband who berated Annabel and called her all sorts of names. But in the end it was Annabel who had my sympathy. Loved the ending.

My only criticism would be that while most voices carried well, I fear that with a full house some people at the back may find it a little hard to hear everything.
Well done to director Andrea Vernik-Taaffe.

The Motel is dramatic, funny and highly entertaining but most importantly for me it was thought-provoking - that's what makes good theatre.