A well-acted, very funny show that I recommend to all. Don’t be a stranger, go and see this play.
Strangers In Between is a 2-act play written by Tommy Murphy and directed by Adam Spreadbury-Maher. It tells the story of a young man called Shane who has recently left his small town to move to Sydney where he tries to build a life for himself. It was first performed in 2005 and has had multiple productions across Australia and the UK since then, and for very good reason. This is a very good play and this production matches up to the words on the page.
This show is funny. Like, really funny. I award it my inaugural “funniest sex scene of the year” trophy, as that particular part of the scene had me absolutely howling. All 3 actors play the humour up brilliantly and most of the comedic moments seemed absolutely effortless with just the right amount of camp. Some of this humour does disappear in the second act as things take a slightly more serious turn, but there is still just about enough comedy to not make the transition from comedy to serious too jarring.
As mentioned all 3 actors gave brilliant performances, but I have to give a particular shout out to Alex Ansdell who plays Shane. Ansdell makes his professional debut in this show, and it is one hell of a debut. He is on stage throughout the show and is tasked with portraying quite a complex character with some incredibly funny lines, but also some really heart-breaking moments, all of which he does with aplomb. The 2 other actors were also very strong, with Stephen Connery-Brown earning laughs from the crowd from the slightest of movements and changes of expression. Matthew Mitcham plays 2 roles, one of which I thought was very well done, the other one less so. When he was playing the brother of our main character, I felt that the performance became a bit stilted and unnatural. This was potentially a purposeful character choice, but it did seem to take some of the energy and momentum out of these particular scenes. Mitcham’s casting did however create a brilliant funny moment, when his character mocks the idea of being told he could go to the Olympics (Mathew Mitcham being a former Olympian himself). Presumably that line does not usually get a laugh when performed by other actors, but Mitcham delivered it with a slight glint in his eye, which created a nice extra comedic moment. I will also say that to my untrained, and crucially un-Australian ear, all of the accents in this play were well done and consistent without. It is surprising how often that is not the case.
This show has had multiple productions since it first opened in 2005 in Sydney and I can see why. There is a timeless universality to this script, but also some aspects that have become only more interesting over time. Shane arrives in Sydney as a young gay man, and he yearns to find friends and community. To do this he has to go out and speak to people. To learn more about gay culture and other aspects of gay life, he has to ask people face to face. It’s fascinating just how different such interactions would be now, and how the idea of a gay community has changed and shifted over time, due to the rise of dating apps and online communities. As the program for the show mentions, Shane would also likely be far less naïve due to being able to get answers to most of his questions through a google search, rather than having to build connections with people. Some aspects of this story though could still easily be transposed into 2023. Shane’s feelings of loneliness, Peter’s guilt at not being there for his mother, the internalised homophobia, but also the sense of camaraderie and chosen family which I do still believe is present today. They do however now tend to manifest in slightly different ways.
I really enjoyed this production and would definitely recommend it, as long as you are comfortable with some brief non-sexual nudity and discussion of adult themes and topics. Strangers in between is playing at the Golden Goose Theatre until the 7th October.
(Sidenote – Alex Ansdell, who plays the lead in this production, is also a contributor for A Young(ish) Perspective. However, I have never met nor spoken to him, so I would like to think my praise of his performance is free of any obvious bias).