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[title]The Malthouse might be smack-bang in the middle of Southbank, but the Merlyn Theatre stage is set to transform into an idyllic Hepburn holiday house this July. Ash Flanders, the caustic comedy extraordinaire behind SS Metaphor and The Sovereign Wife, has mined his own life to write This is Living, a semi-autobiographical play that promises to make audiences laugh ‘til they hurt.
With direction from Malthouse Theatre artistic director Matthew Lutton and featuring an all-star cast, this heartwarming play explores what happens and how we cope when life doesn’t quite turn out like the white picket fence dream we’ve all been sold. It’s a tale of chosen family and unconventional life paths that will tug at your heartstrings, yet ultimately leave you feeling whole. Because sometimes, falling apart can bring you together.
So, what actually goes down in This is Living? Hugh (Marcus McKenzie) has organised an exquisite weekend getaway for his partner and their best girlfriends in Hepburn Springs, aka spa country. Surely, he thinks, soaking in spring water and consuming copious amounts of deli meats will be just the thing to help them all escape the year from hell? Unfortunately, there’s no amount of premium snacks that can erase the tribulations of one’s thirties, forties and fifties. And try as these holidaymakers might to float on the surface, life is apt to boil over.
This is Living will play at the Merlyn Theatre from July 7-30 and the impressive cast includes Wil King, Belinda McClory, Marcus McKenzie, Michelle Perera and Maria Theodorakis. A ticket will cost you $90 for standard tickets or $50 for concession.
You’d best check your emotional baggage at the door before you book your tickets to This is Living, but this show is definitely not a catharsis you want to skip. After all, friendship, divorce, life and death – that’s often what living is all about.