Written and directed by Chris Neels
Cast: Andrew Ford, Colin Garlick, Chelsea McEwan-Millar, & Nic Sampson
Music performed by: Natalie Parker, Ruby Reihana-Wilson, & Sean Webb
BATS Theatre
Two sex scenes, a butt-load of glitter, one little play.
Skeletons is about a broken couple clinging onto the pieces of their relationship as they try to piece
together where it all fell apart. We meet the unnamed man and woman at the end of their battle.
Piece by piece, bone by bone, they tell their love story backwards. Everywhere ‘Guy’ looks, there are
reminders of the failures; his two friends help him pick up her belongings, while he tries to pick up
his life.
Being in a relationship, one can never tell when the strings start to get tangled into what eventually
becomes an irreconcilable ‘hot mess’. Being able to sit back and watch, objectively, as the whole
thing is unravelled, allows us to pick apart the individual threads; the little incidents which, alone,
are not so bad (a fart in bed, not being productive with one’s day, one too many mentions of the
new guy at work), add up to something entirely unpleasant.
The story is set in many different locations, yet each was easily distinguished thanks to some clever
lighting and an effective use of the fairly simple set. Mood-setting music–played by live musicians
who stay hidden for most of the show–provided a particularly pleasant aural element.
The cast play each of their roles confidently and bring a natural sense of comedy to the back and
forth banter; it was easy to imagine them stepping off stage and into the bar post-show without
dropping character. Despite the sad plot, the dialogue had the audience laughing throughout. This
reviewer certainly didn’t expect to see two sex scenes played out right before her eyes! I even
learned a thing or two about mallards. The script is well written and flows easily from present to
past and back again as the truth unfolds. There are some very witty moments and some very messy
ones; I always feel sorry for the person who has to clean up that much glitter.
There really isn’t much more that needs to be said about These Are The Skeletons of Us, it’s
delightful and heart warming if, at times, a tad depressing. A show is, after all, entertainment, and I
was greatly entertained.
These Are The Skeletons of Us runs from 27 March to 5 April at 6.30pm. Tickets cost $18/$14