REVIEW BY GRACE DWYER
EDITED BY EMMA PARFITT
Happy International Lesbian Day to those who celebrate. I certainly do, by taking snacks and a picnic blanket to Argyle Square. Music’s playing, we’re eating cheese and gluten free crackers, and we’re free to watch the cast and crew of SPRUIK! roam around, getting ready. I can’t think of a better start to my Wednesday evening.
SPRUIK! is an utterly unique show – for a multitude of reasons, but most prominently for Dead End Collective’s choice of public outdoor setting. It’s incredibly gutsy, leaving the performers and crew with much less control over their venue. Ushers are placed around the audience and beside the stage, in fluoro vests; this lets the audience relax into the performance, without breaking too much of our immersion. SPRUIK! achieves the absolute best-case scenario of such a choice, as every element of the outdoor setting (passers-by, traffic noises, the setting sun, etc) elevates the production. Directors Tessie Yu and Simon Brownjohn block scenes to be visually interesting and levelled, made easy with a striking set by Valerie T. Miller. Along with elaborate panels of fabric as set dressing, Miller’s set, (assisted by Henry Nguyen, constructed by Tim Augier) expands as the show continues, providing more opportunity for creative, immersive blocking. Similarly, lighting (designed by Lilla Gutteridge, assisted by Esther Luk) comes alive in the show’s second half, and we settle into the warm glow of table lamps and fairy lights. It’s a charming, heightened representation of the Carlton streets we all walked down to arrive at the ‘theatre’.
Writer and producer Josie Buden is, according to their bio, ‘convinced the age of the heterosexual rom-com is over’. I have to say, it’s hard to name any recent romantic comedy as funny and feel good as SPRUIK!. On Lygon Street, three queer love stories develop within two restaurants, over the course of one evening: Casey (Percy Mangiafico) and Athe (Poppy Treadwell), senior school best friends, and March (Freyja Knutsen Craig) and Chloe-Rose (Sabrina Lee), on a first date from hell. Treadwell and especially Mangiafiaco adorably capture the nervous love-struck energy between their characters, whereas Craig’s bubbliness and vulnerability hits hard against Lee’s gleefully toxic portrayal of an arrogant playboy. These two couples work alongside our romantic leads – Riley (Abigail Liptrot Spillane) and Staz (Iva Lilly) – as the central source of dramatic tension and resolution.
For those not as familiar with aggressive Melbourne hospitality, to ‘spruik’ is to promote a business. A carnival barker for restaurants, kind of. On the left side of the stage, Staz is on her first shift, failing miserably and hilariously, while on the right, Riley coolly poaches Staz’s customers. Over the evening, the two fight, reminisce, and run into their joint ex (once again Chloe-Rose, stirring the pot). Lilly is a perfect leading lady, and Staz’s anxious attempts to please with zero ability to smoothly operate are immediately endearing. Riley, I would argue, has decidedly less scenery to chew, but Liptrot-Spillane does a fantastic job of staying grounded without being overly stoic, and the reality of Staz and Riley’s relationship rehabilitation is a testament to the collaboration of Buden’s script and these two fantastic actors.
It’s not all love and war, though. The strongest part of SPRUIK! is its cohesive ensemble and cosy atmosphere. As Buden adeptly characterises every player within minutes of their introduction, the show feels nostalgic and comforting, without sacrificing the narrative. Costumes, designed by Claire Black, along with hair and makeup by Hannah Crompton, impressively heighten the production design – colour schemes, outfits and hairstyles are certainly realistic, but nevertheless carefully thought out. These aspects inform my comparison of SPRUIK! to a really good sitcom. We’re treated to spit takes, comedic character reveals, and endlessly entertaining ensemble antics, my favourite being: pedestrians’ Fabian Jones and Lilith Lee’s old couple; and Ada (Akshita Benny), a younger spruiker, with an obsession for fidget toys and lemons. Completing our cast is the senior restaurant staff: Riley’s boss and Ada’s uncle, Yusuf (Oliver Qubrosi) and Staz’s boss Tenzin (Crystal So), both with a charmingly gruff exterior that isn’t that hard to pierce; Tenzin’s coworker and chef Helen (Fifi Diberardino); and her husband, Carlo (Josh Petrenko). Qubrosi, So, Diberardino and Petrenko are frequently eliciting big laughs from the audience, with comedic chemistry in spades. I find their dynamic both realistic and heart-warming. As the minimum wage stagnates, prices skyrocket and occasional drink on the job is offered – all painfully relatable aspects of Carlton hospitality – SPRUIK! chooses to lean into the more commendable aspects of the community, and instead of playing up a rivalry between the restaurants, highlights their mutual respect and willingness to look out for their families and each other.
Even more care and appreciation is evident in SPRUIK’s queer community: there’s a lovely pattern of queer characters like Helen and Riley looking out for the less experienced. There’s also care put into exploring the dynamics in different types of queer identity – the most powerful being a moving monologue from March, on her complex relationship with mortality as a trans woman. Archetypes that range from falling in love with your best friend to an accessorised carabiner are tongue-in-cheek references to common queer aesthetics and experiences.
In my personal experience, one of the most wonderful aspects of the queer community is how members can recognise traits of their own struggles in others, and never fail to welcome and be unabashedly supportive. It’s an aspect I see amply reflected in SPRUIK!. I’m so grateful for the hour and forty-five minutes I got to spend in a theatricalised world that lovingly reflects the best parts of my own – but that doesn’t mean I’m not demanding a series spinoff, stat.
Dead End Collective’s SPRUIK! played October 6th – 11th at Piazza Italia as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival.
GRACE DWYER is a third year Arts student majoring in English and Theatre Studies. She fell in love with student theatre during her first year at college, playing a frog prince – and loves watching and talking about productions almost as much as she loved hopping around the stage.
EMMA PARFITT (she/her) is the Dialog’s head editor and has written Dialog reviews alongside studying towards her science degree for the past two years. She is a production manager, stage manager and producer on the Melbourne indie theatre scene and a veteran of student theatre at Union House Theatre.
The Dialog is supported by Union House Theatre.
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