Reviewed by Aldo Longobardi
March 2013
What accommodations are you willing to make for the one you love without compromising your pride? Galleon’s production of Nick Hall’s “Accommodations” directed by Warren McKenzie poses this question set against the backdrop of the vibrant 1960s; where women were beginning to assert themselves and realising they could be anything and anyone they wanted to be, not just someone’s wife.
Desperate housewife Lee (Anita Canala) is tired of picking up socks and being taken for granted by her chauvinistic husband Bob (Andrew Clark). In an attempt to make her husband appreciate her as a woman, Lee leaves her comfortable house and moves into a shared rundown one bedroom apartment with two new roommates. Canala is a wonderful combination of demure and assertive allowing the sparks to fly in her interactions with Clark. Clark is at his comic best as he sinks into drunkenness on the worst first date ever with Lee’s roommate Pat (Lana Adamusek), a chameleon actress who changes personas with every costume change – everything from Shirley Temple to Russian spy! Pat turns her affections to earnest psychology student Tracy (Luke Budgen), whose name provides much comedy and confusion in the early moments of the play. Budgen’s portrayal of the honest, centred, voice of reason Tracy provides a welcome contrast to the three more animated characters. Adamusek takes us on a hilarious melodramatic journey of self-discovery as her exuberant flirtations with Tracy are resisted suggesting that the only person any woman really needs to be is herself.
The single box set provides clever entrances and exits worthy of a French farce. Sean Smith weaves iconic sounds of the 60s through the scene changes which, despite being a little on the long side, allow for the occasional sing-a-long.
Make some accommodations to your busy schedule and get out to see this show!
