Circa Theatre
Sept 27-Oct 25 | Reviewed by Helen Sims

I HAVE to admit that the premise of this show did not wildly excite me – four high school mates, now in their 30s, gather for a once-a-month tennis match and moan about the receding hairlines. I’m getting a little tired of the subject of male friendships and the marketing line of “Men behaving badly” added to the impression that I would be seeing a play that trod a well-worn path – and one I’m not particularly interested in at that. Whilst Drinking Games didn’t go anywhere new, it did exceed my (admittedly low) expectations. And whilst writer Damien Wilkins hasn’t broken the mould with this play, his ear for dialogue is well served by a cast of four excellent actors.

Dave (played by Gavin Rutherford) was the leader at high school and remains so. Rutherford does a fantastic job of investing his strutting, bombastic, bachelor barrister role with heart. Dave has always been shadowed by Gary – at high school Gary was the weather guy to Dave’s sport’s commentator; now he is the ‘boring’ office based lawyer to Dave’s successful court room barrister. Simon Vincent manages to make Gary likeable enough, but his character arch is fairly tame. Nick Dunbar plays quick-to-anger public servant Tim with pent up tension and possibly the worst wig to grace the stage this year. Rounding out the foursome is Robbie Hunt as plumber and odd man out, Steve.

The storyline is predictable – from the moment that Tim coughs in the first scene, Gary mentions a possible job in Hong Kong and Steve is vague about how things are going with the wife and kids you’ll have a fair idea where each character’s story is going to go. However, the play is redeemed by the humour that is generated from the dialogue and vivacity brought to the script through the four actors. The most interesting aspect of the play is the development of the friendship between Dave and Steve after Steve runs afoul of the law.

The production is let down somewhat by the set design. The loudly-painted box-like set doesn’t suit the space – Circa 2 is too shallow in depth for this design and it makes the action appear two dimensional and flat. Having the cast roll around the set pieces in blue light is distracting and shatters the illusion of the play between scenes – the audience is constantly reminded that they are watching a play. The disruptive effect this has on the storyline is not helped by the quick finishes to every scene, overlaid with pseudo-trendy music.

There is nothing surprising about Drinking Games, but it is well performed. Excellent casting seems to have made up for most of the production’s obvious defects and will allow you to sit back and enjoy 90 minutes of unchallenging material. It’s probably more of a show for men in their 30s-40s who want to indulge in the nostalgia and a light exploration of ‘mate-dom’.