You just know that things are going to come crashing down in Course Related Costs, the only questions are how, and how badly.  

The set-up is this: After the mainstay of the student drinking budget, ‘course related costs’ has dried up, Pete, Monty and AJ have installed a P lab in their flat. The three are affable white trash slackers, living in squalor, easy going and worrying little about any potential consequences. There are two worn couches, a TV, Star Wars and Trainspotting posters on the wall, and rubbish is stacked on piles on the floor – part of a noticeable theatre trend in Auckland (These are the Skeletons of Us, Tigerplay) that seems to be focus on grungy living and characters that barely look after themselves, not to mention their surroundings. [More]  

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Outfit Theatre Company’s world debut of Course Related Costs by Colin Garlick burst out of its rehearsal space wrapping and spilled onto the ‘factory floor’ in an impeccable opening night performance at The Basement last night.

Set in a typical student flat, three flatmates come up with a plan to cook top-grade methamphetamine for a sociopathic crime boss, for six months, for a massive cash return; as if being a student weren’t already hard enough!

Seemingly simple enough, add to the concoction a psychotic, crack-head ex-girlfriend, a nice but nosey big sister, an out-of-luck National MP, two half-wit delivery guys, and their well-devised plan explodes into a chain of unfortunate events.

Brad Johnson, Tarquinn Kennedy and Jordan Mooney, as flatmates Pete, AJ and Monty, share an airtight chemistry, setting a picture-perfect scene in which we join them in the living room of their flat as the adventure unfolds.

Playwright Colin Garlick has flawlessly combined chaos with a repertoire of witty, everyday dialogue, tears, laughter, shock, fear and plenty of drama. I was particularly impressed with the acknowledgment of an audience, in asides from different characters as part of a unique story-telling technique.

Director Peter Coates has fashioned a fine piece of New Zealand comedy and turned the intimate space at The Basement into the ultimate, suburban crime-scene.  

In an irresistible crowd favourite, the musical talents of drivers-for-hire Randy (Chris Tempest) and Earl (Joel Herbert) are put to the test in a committed road trip revival of the animal kingdom’s number one hit single from a certain popular film. 

Outfit can be exceptionally proud of their hard work and confident that this developmental season will be a great success; the ensemble is definitely one to keep your eye on.  

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