The play has been described as being in the vein of ‘Waiting For Godot’ and ‘Rosencrantz And Guildenstern  Are Dead’  It’s a description I agree with.

The play’s title is a rather obscure one. My guess is that it is a pun/riff of William Shakespeare’s phrase, ‘shuffle off this mortal coil’.

In James Hartley’s ‘This Modern Coil’ two soldiers , Booker and Zachary, are stuck in a small field somewhere that is laced with landmines. At different times both soldiers step on, or appear to step on landmines.

With everything on a life and death balance,  its the very cereberal, philisophical and sometimes humorous banter between the two men that makes this very deftly written play.

Hartley directs his play well. The play shoswcases two really good performances by Shayan Askari and Edward Frame.

The play takes place in a pop up theatre in Redfern. The theatre is on the first level above the Dock Bar, at the 182 Redfern Street, Redfern. The nearest cross street is Regent Street.

James Hartley’s ‘This Modern Coil’ continues playing until Sunday  27th September, 2020.

There is very little theatre happening in Sydney at the moment because of Covid. Try and catch this very well performed and cleverly written play before it closes.

https://www.uppercrasstheatre.com/