This Year's Ashes @ Griffin Theatre

On Monday night I went to the stylishly small Griffin Theatre in Kings Cross to see This Year's Ashes. The recently re-furbished theatre was intimate, small and thankfully air conditioned on a bakingly hot Sydney evening.

The tag lines for the play tell you all you really need to know:
There are rules in this city
Never bring them back to your place
Never more than three shags
Never tell them your real name
Never mention the cricket 
Never (ever) cry

A cast of just three people tell the story of Ellen (Belinda Bromilow) who is still working through the grief of losing her father, played by Tony Llewellyn-Jones, two years previously.

Alone in Sydney, Ellen seeks to deal with her grief through alcohol and a series of one night stands. All of the 'boyfriends' are, slightly confusingly, played by Nathan Lovejoy. His characters weren't clearly distinguished and sometimes I wasn't sure if he was a new fling or not. Oh, and just so you know, there is some full frontal male nudity.

The play left me feeling underwhelmed. I'm not sure what the writer wanted us to take away from the play. None of the intersecting stories of Ellen's relationship with her father, overcoming her grief or the relationship with Adam were particularly compelling. I was disappointed with the character development, I would have liked to have seen more of a journey from Ellen's character.

The acting was solid, but I don't think the script really gave them the opportunity to shine.

I doubt that my 'review' has inspired you to go and watch This Year's Ashes and with the seasoning ending on 19th November there isn't much time left.

However, the charming Griffin Theatre is sure to entice me back. As long as they get rid of the cockroach that was crawling round the stage during the second half....