The Sydney Theatre Company’s production of ‘The Unlikely Prospect of Happiness’ wasn’t a world beater but it was sharp, breezy entertainment.
The play represents the fourth play by local playwright Tony McNamara that the Sydney Theatre Company has produced. The play follows on from ‘The John Wayner Principle’(1997), ‘The Recruit’(2000), and ‘The Virgin Mim’(2002).

‘The Unlikely Prospect’ is Ben O’s Sullivan’s story. His life is in a rut. Ben is a successful businessman- running the family’s clothing factory- but everything else in his life doesn’t sit right.
His marriage has lost its lustre, and his family are dysfunctional- his mother is always sick and on the verge of dying, his father rips off the clothes from his factory, his brother has a drinki9ng problem, and his priest is a very confused soul.
Ben’s life looks as if it is at a dead end. And then someone comes into his life who offers him a new way.
That someone is young, spunky tax auditor, Zoe Sparkes who comes to check Ben’s books are ok, and falls for him. A romance develops, and Ben’s life is then at the crossroads. Will Ben leave his wife and family for a new life or will he stay put.
McNamara takes all play to answer the question, keeping the interest going.

What’s the writer’s recipe? McNamara sets the pace very fast. The actors zap through their scenes. The dialogue was brisk and contemporary. There was a definite young people’s feel to the play. It should appeal to the twenties and thirties set.
‘The Unlikely Prospect’ featured a very modern apartment set. An uptempo, jingly sound design added to the plays’ breezy feel.
Thematically the play did not have that much to say.
What did I see as its weaknesses. It comes down to something that I have always felt about McNamara’s writing. His dialogue tends on the coarse side. More of a problem is that the playwright sometimes gets his characters to say things I just couldn’t possibly imagine them to say.
I recall when Judi Farr as then mother made a rather crude, long winded speech, that I couldn’t possibly imagine a woman of her type would say.

Jeremy Sims directed the production. I have seen a number of the productions he has directed and he is a consistently good director.
In the leading role Russell Dykstra started a little nervously, but came good.
I found Pia’s performance as Zoe a little underpowered. As Ben’s wife, Helen Dallimore came across well. She has a strong stage presence, and was always interesting to watch. Judi Farr seemed out of sorts and not particularly interested in her ‘lightweight’role.
Summing up. ‘The Unlikely Prospect of Happiness’ was an entertaining, well worked, albeit unexceptional piece of popular theatre.