Slices of life with bittersweet relish

If Kiwi comedy often seems like an endangered bird that has forgotten how to fly, Covert Theatre provides a breeding sanctuary where fledgling comedians are learning to take flight, and occasionally soar.

Basing their practice on improvisation, the company has developed a comedic style that is in touch with its audience and is not afraid to take risks.

In what looks like becoming an annual event, Covert is presenting a season of four one-act comedies selected from scripts submitted by New Zealand and international writers.

The transition from spontaneous improvisation to scripted drama is always difficult and the anarchic, laugh-a-minute energy of improvised comedy is somewhat dissipated in these plays.

But the pay-off comes with sharply honed observations of contemporary manners and some bitter-sweet moments when the laughter leads to uncomfortable recognition and insight.

The most daring play is Angela Carey's Tick Tock, which shows a playfulness and imaginative flair that comes close to capturing the vitality of improvisation. With two alter-egos, an irrepressible biological clock and puppet sperm, it has a wonderful inventiveness that is not always well-served by James McLaughlin's direction. A cluttered set and the naturalistic staging seems at odds with a script screaming out for exuberant theatricality.

Wade Jackson's Interrogation offers a tightly structured vignette that effectively subverts gay stereotypes.

Its strong performances and focused staging benefit from Jackson's eye for detail, with the biggest laughs often arising from tiny gestures or subtle changes in facial expression.

American Warren Schultz takes a different approach in Dating Dot Com, which uses clever wordplay and some sharp one-liners to deliver his wry observations of the internet dating game.

Cheesebread by Duncan Eastwood manages to breathe life into two comedic staples: the blind date and the obnoxious waiter.

Emma Aubin as Greta injects a marvellous burst of energy as she flits skittishly between narrating a splatter movie, speculating on a cannibalistic fast-food franchise, and sudden arousal at the mention of Moroccan tablecloth.

Her performance is nicely complemented by increasingly bizarre intrusions from the waiter and utter bewilderment from her well-meaning date.

Review

What: ONE: Four single-act comedies

Where: Covert Theatre

Reviewer: Paul Simei-Barton