This show is for all theatre people who have worked in a ticketing box office/call centre with annoying, idiotic customers. It has an excellent, very strong cast who are terrific, but the play is somewhat confused, jumbled and artificial and just misses the mark. The idea behind it is excellent, some of it was spot on and very close to the bone, other sections disappoint.

It could actually be two plays – there is quite a distinct division between the two halves as well as the introduction of an extra character.

The play is set in a box office call centre and is Aronsten’s follow up to HUMAN RESOURCES, previously staged at Darlo.

In Act 1 we first meet Martin, the call centre supervisor, (Gerry Sont) – fussy, obsessive, he is stressed and a worrier. He is also a caffeine freak, and his team call him ‘Daddy’.

His team is secretly writing a play about Martin in the hope of winning a playwriting competition. However , Martin has submitted his own play for the prize, based on his staff and their thwarted lives and he leaves it as a ‘gift’ and wakeup call when he mysteriously vanishes, having won the prize.

Act One introduces the team and we see how they end up attacking Martin (the finale to Act 1 is quite simian and scary really). We see how they play various ‘games’ and do everything they can to avoid answering calls while simultaneously secretly working on their collaborative play lampooning Martin.

In Act 2 the team discover the play that Martin has written about them and go on to rehearse it. We get to know the characters a lot more, through Martin’s eyes, and it is also in some ways a journey of self discovery for them all.

Catherine (Angela Bauer), the actress and playwright stuck in a rut and dependent on the insights of her astrologer, has a sharp, searing, drunken segment brilliantly performed. Chris, ( Shaun Rennie ) would be writer and who acts as narrator for part of the time, is excellent .

There is also a featured section for obstreperous, extremely opinionated lesbian hip hop ‘comic’ Fran (Branden Christine). And we see buxom, provocative Felicity (Briallen Clarke) and partner Simon (Sonny Vrebac ) who attend an audition and then go through relationship crisis when one is more successful and has more job offers than the other .

Bali Padda as Ali, the officer cleaner who is dragooned to play ‘Martin’ in Act 2 is great .Fran and Ali are Aronsten’s excuse for some racist and sexist ‘jokes’ and more bad ‘jokes’ in the finale as well as some of the off-colour swearing elsewhere in the play .

The show ends in a mini-musical with the cast in a ‘Cabaret’ or ‘A Chorus Line’ spoof and having a whale of a time. But there is no real resolution. Does Martin return, and forgive the team for the ‘I hate Martin’ attack ? Will management from head office arrive ?

Whilst the show has great performances, it is a somewhat disjointed collection of pieces in a weird, surrealist, black comedy way that was sometimes funny but more frequently not .

Chris Aronstein’ s THE LUNCH HOUR, with a running time of 100 minutes including one interval , and directed by Kate Gaul, opened at the Darlinghurst Theatre on Tuesday 11th September and runs until Sunday 7th October, 2012.

© Lynne Lancaster

Tags: Sydney Theatre Reviews- THE LUNCH HOUR, Chris Aronstein, Kate Gaul, Angela Bauer, Branden Christine, Briallen Clarke, Bali Padda, Shaun Rennie, Gerry Sont, Sonny Vrebac, Sydney Arts Guide, Lynne Lancaster