This little gem is a very original, rather absurd comedy, but with darker undertones of tragic lost love and a life spent ‘living in the past’.
The two actors Lisa Chappell as Esther, who also wrote the piece, and Sarah Hytner as Mavis, complement each other beautifully as two elderly characters trapped day and night in a futuristic call centre for Bad Day Insurance…waiting for ‘something’.
The play starts with a series of short calls by clients. The scenarios are extremely funny, and the audience can well relate to many of the injustices in life, plus there is some cruel advice given out as to how to avoid similar claims in future. Unlike most insurance companies the women go out of their way to ensure the client gets a payout for the unfortunate incidents, of their lives even if every claim receives the same payout. As they say to each client, “thank you for calling Bad Day Insurance where it pays to have a bad day.”
As the action proceeds however, in what is apparently the mundane world of the call centre, hints accumulate that the fantasy space between the characters is a systematic evasion, an escape, from a truly bad day in their own histories.
There is a fascinating mix of the ordinary, pots of tea & Tim Tam biscuits, with bizarre elements such as the mysterious ‘Boobs’, perhaps some god like creature, a lampshade to be venerated, and unexplained technology.
The tragedy lies in the characters inability, at least for most of the play, to come to terms with issues in their personal lives. This extends even to the denial of one of the character’s gender. They are trapped in their own despair and defeat but the skilful writing ensures we have deep empathy for these lost lives.
Directed by Drew Fairley, with lighting by Dean Goffe, the play keeps us highly entertained by some light nonsense but also engrossed, at a deeper level, by the underlying pain of the two players.
BAD DAY INSURANCE is playing at the Old 505 theatre, 505/342 Elizabeth Street, Surry Hills until the 24th August, playing Wednesdays to Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 7pm.