Under the Table Productions put on ‘Bedtime for Bastards’, a triple bill by Van Badham, a show which was a hit at the recent Edinburgh Fringe festival, at the Crypt theatre in the Cat and Fiddle Hotel, Balmain. ‘Under the Table’ is a new theatre company run by two Sydney directors, Louise Fletcher and Fiona Hallenan.

I found ‘Bedtime for Bastards’ a disappointment. Two of the three plays were clever pieces but lacked real heart. The black humour of seeing two American public relation specialists trying to put a good spin on crack smoking US marines killing babies in a war zone just didn’t do it for me. The same could be said of ‘Kitchen’, a dark piece about workplace politics being brought into the home environment. It just felt too extreme and bland.

The saving grace of ‘Bedtime for Bastards’ was ‘Morning on a Rainy Day’. This was a play with genuine bite and a human, universal situation. Molly is a woman at the crossroads. She has had a long time relationship with a man who is her best friend and also her occasional shag. Molly’s problem is that whilst traveling overseas recently she met a man whom she has decided to marry. Molly’s dilemma is how is she going to break off things with her old friend/soulmate?!

‘Morning on a Rainy Day’ was exciting, stimulating theatre. One never knew how the situation would resolve or even what the real situation was. Perhaps the other man didn’t really exist?! This was a well directed piece and the performances by Emma Harris and Johann Walraven were strong.