A scene from Alright on the Night at Levin Little Theatre, from left, Anthony Tautari, Dave Key, Amber Rollinson and Ryan Burnell.
A scene from Alright on the Night at Levin Little Theatre, from left, Anthony Tautari, Dave Key, Amber Rollinson and Ryan Burnell.
Make sure you take a hanky to the Levin Little Theatre as two plays now on show send audiences on an emotional rollercoaster.
The first play, The Empty Chair, is a confronting look at addiction that has the audience reaching for a hanky at intermission.
During the refreshment break thereis a set change for the comedy Alright on the Night, which again has the audience reaching for a hanky, but this time to wipe away tears of laughter.
The Empty Chair was directed by Noah Watters and called on the cast to go to deep places not usually associated with small community theatre. It is a sombre look at reality and confronts key themes that society can’t ignore.
A scene from The Empty Chair at Levin Little Theatre.
It was a tough ask for the cast — there’s just one set and no music — but each character did well in keeping it authentic. As an example, actors Anthony Tautari and Miles Harrington have been seen in comical roles before, and both showed they can leave funny at the door when required.
Alright on the Night was the directorial debut for Krystal Connell, who had done plenty of acting before and had a role in the earlier play herself. In contrast to the earlier play, it was a flat-out comedy that was built to get a laugh at every turn.
Alright on the Night was the directorial debut for Krystal Connell.
Dave Key and his real-life wife, Debbie, are hilarious as elderly couple Bill and Gladys Burton, while Amber Rollinson stars playing the part of a policewoman towards the end.
It wasn’t by mistake that two vastly different plays are on show. Levin Little Theatre purposely chose two contrasting scripts, even publishing the evening programme in an upside-down format.
