Reviewed by Janice Bailey
February 2014
If you are looking for a night of sophisticated theatre then you shouldn’t bother to climb the stairs to Maxim’s Wine Bar on the Parade, Norwood to see Matt Byrne Media’s latest offering, dateless.com. It is what it is, so if you enjoy a theatre restaurant type show with some audience participation and a bit of fun, then make the effort.
The theme is online dating portrayed through four ‘desperates’, played enthusiastically by Kim York as Rhonda Backseat, Sophie Lee Hamilton as Kendra Catley, Marc Clement as Jack Lovegun and Matt Byrne as George Carpet. These experienced performers work hard to keep the audience entertained. Sophie Lee Hamilton’s range of characters had a well-defined trait, making them believably different from each other. The format allows the performers to interact with the crowd, although I would have preferred that they had done this in character.
Overall, the show seemed too long but it was a hot night and the chairs were less than comfortable, highlighting the lack of pace.
While the show is topical, there are some very old chestnuts – it would have pleased me more if at least some of the one-liners had been updated to complement the topical theme.
dateless.com is part of the Adelaide Fringe and this troupe of local talent deserve to be supported.
