The opening night of ‘Something to do with Bolivian Affairs’ was an endearingly, brilliant production that showcased an amazing cast. A bestselling performance that served to show why it was so highly anticipated, with the audience ever in raptures.
A witty comedy that exposed the facade of nostalgia amidst the background of turbulent relationships, evident from the get-go, was elevated by the constant breaking of the fourth wall. With every point of the show, drama was never far behind from a destructive infatuation to the apparent inability to voice a veritable opinion. What begins as a birthday party descends into a night of drunken debauchery, inexcusable actions and finally culminates with the social disassociation of everyone in attendance from one another. Perhaps unintentionally, this show highlights the danger of unchecked emotion and the belief that it will almost certainly result in a ticking time bomb – one that only compounds the worst moments. It explores the need for honesty within relationships and without it, how time passes by without the slightest care in the world for all your inadequacies. You find yourself lost to time, superseded by an entity; one that will exist for far longer than your vanity. It is a stark reminder that the freedom that concepts like love can provide can just as easily render you a prisoner to your own internal machinations.
The cast were sublime, from the subtle cues employed throughout to the much loved one-liners that left it impossible to be straight-faced. Their variety of intonation and modulation conveyed great emotion and really helped in bringing the show to life. It felt, at times, reminiscent of a juicy telenovela with the inclusion of the hilarious Pepe (Roberto Rowinski), appearing every so often. Jane Myers (Eden Houlberg) and Miles (not Mike!) Myers (Toma Hoffman) were absolute superstars, in the manner that they altered their characters to achieve their throughline. They were my favourite couple of the three – though, I suppose to call them even that would be disingenuous – and it would not be much of an achievement to be the best couple.
All in all, I could not recommend this spectacle any more than I already have. A massive credit has to rightly be apportioned to the technical team, without which this would not have been possible and that script is a work of art! Matthew Hepell is a bona fide bundle of creativity and I cannot wait to hopefully see more of his upcoming work after this experience. The diligence and passion that the entire team had poured into this project is clear to see in that performance on stage and I can only hope more people take the time out of their day to appreciate their hard work. We could all do with some laughs in the middle of semester one, when the going is getting tough!
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
