Romantic comedies have been the staple diet of film goers for over 80 years. The basic plot of a rom-com, as described by Wikipedia, is that two protagonists, usually a man and a woman, meet, part ways due to an argument or other obstacle, then ultimately reunite. 

But for Pinwheel Productions the genre has become very passé and in their production Don’t Eat The Bed they claim to have deconstructed the rom-com and put some life back into it. That they achieve this goal is somewhat debatable, entertaining though the production is. 

He is a chocolate seller, she is a dentist. They meet; fall in love then under the influence of his mate he disgraces himself at her awards ceremony and then shoots her. But in true rom-com fashion they make up and live happily ever after. 

Visually the many disjointed scenes create pretty pictures with the actors bringing lots of physical energy to their roles but the dialogue, and fortunately there is little of it, is so laid back and lacking vocal energy that it often becomes inaudible. 

And although the contradictions within the genre of rom-com that the group tries to highlight through their deconstructionism are occasionally seen the piece as a whole needs far more work in order to create continuity and a sense of theatricality. 
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Romantic comedy: the secret vice. Comedy in the classical sense, because all is resolved in the end. The happy ending that suggests all the bad times are past and only joy awaits … Yeah right.

Rather than just send the whole genre up, Pinwheel Productions has deconstructed it and surrealised it core elements.  Quite why the result is called Don’t Eat the Bed escapes me, though (any thoughts?)

Director/writer Thomas McGrath and his devising cast bring us the ‘girl meets boy / boy loses girl / yet somehow it all works out’ story of high-achieving dentist Lillian (Brigid Costello) and ace chocolate maker Zac (Aaron Baker). Despite trying to avoid it, through fear and trepidation, they meet by spectacular accident – a brilliant moment – and so the whole catastrophe begins ….

Costello’s background in dance comes to the fore in manifesting Lily’s professional exterior and romantic heart while Baker captures well the amiable bloke caught between fidelity to his gross-out bogan mate Ollie* – unerringly nailed by Louis Tait – and this thing called ‘love’ for Lily. Despite the heighted performance style, they let us care about their fates; an essential component in making it work.

Lily’s best friend Dan*, played by Kathryn Jackson, is there to encourage her to follow her heart. In other social sequences, which include OTT drag-queenish creations manifested by Bronwen Pattison, I am unable to comprehend the shrieked and gabbled dialogue. This may be intended but as soon as it’s denied you, you want to know what you’re missing. Pattison does manage to tone it down a bit a President of the Dental Association but needs to know that trying too hard to be funny has the opposite effect.

Rather than pull at the heart strings, the cast play out most of the rom-com clichés with poker-faces: an effective alienation device. The stand-out scene of this ilk comes early on, when Lily performs dental surgery on Zac, simultaneously epitomising the dentist’s commentary while deconstructing male sexual practice. A cunning linguistic gem.

Tane Upjohn-Beatson provides another excellent soundscape. Hannah Smith’s moveable set of square tables and a mock dentist chair, Bronwen Pattison’s props and costumes and Uther Dean’s lighting design all contribute to a whole that is well worth seeing.
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*A note on craft: I had to request the character names because they are not mentioned in the programme and are not clear from the performance. Just because a script is littered with the names – attached to dialogue and in action descriptions – that doesn’t mean the audience knows who’s who. It’s part of the scriptwriting craft to ensure names are judiciously mentioned.  
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