Surreal take on small-town life highly amusing

Nisha Madhan and Gareth Reeves each take on multiple characters. Photo / Supplied

The Basement kicks off its 2011 season in fine style - asserting its commitment to the raw, experimental attitude that is inspiring a new generation to switch off their phones and plug into the joys and perils of live theatre.

Writer Julie Hill has stitched together an intriguing, whimsical work that follows a zigzag path as it swings between surreal fantasy and a weird kind of documentary realism.

The result is a highly amusing and occasionally disturbing report on how a deeply post-modern sensibility has insinuated itself into the fabric of small-town New Zealand.

The writing is instinctively ironic and deliberately ambiguous, creating an atmosphere that leaves the audience guessing whether the intention is to ridicule or celebrate the mundane dramas of ordinary people.

Andrew Foster's stylish direction opens proceedings by building up the kind of under-played anticipation that pervades a suburban barbecue before the guests have arrived.

The performances all have a curiously dissociated quality, with characters referring to themselves in the third person as they switch between narration and conventional dialogue.

Stephen Bain's design seems to be based on the grungy, studiously casual aesthetic that never fails to captivate the judges of the Walters Prize but his sprawling, crudely crafted assemblages are enlivened by a loving attention to detail and some nicely timed surprises.

Nisha Madhan and Gareth Reeves both deliver engaging and skilful performances as they take on a multitude of characters, each of whom seems to be mesmerised by a powerful sense of his or her own specialness.

Reeves is particularly convincing in his portrayal of a small-town deadhead who fantasises about escaping on a motorbike while blaming his mother for making him a loser. And Madhan brings a winning naivety to her take on a solipsistic artist.

I found myself frustrated that the piece's light-hearted tone seemed to prevent any real engagement with the psychology of the main character, who finds a bizarre satisfaction in self-mutilation. But Hill clearly establishes herself as a writer with a distinct voice, a sharp sense of humour and a highly refined appreciation of the absurd.

Theatre

What: I Won't be Happy Until I Lose One of My Limbs.
Where: The Basement.