The aim was to create the impression of an indie film with a Disney Channel message – and that’s the best way to sum it up. Working with John Rickard, Marsh has created a piece that weaves multimedia with performance, capturing an atmosphere that is reminiscent of the indie genre. A simple but effective lighting design alongside relevant musical interludes enhanced this effect. A Tamagotchi-style dinosaur singing Simple Plan was a definite highlight.
The acting appeared uneven across the cast, possibly a result of opening night nerves. Standouts included Darcy Whitsed as the lone emo, Kyle, and Elliot Gee as Simon, the lead hipster, who both completely embraced their stereotypical characters. As Kyle’s mysterious girlfriend from Canada, Zoe, Jessica Hutchinson provided a strong performance, while Cara Whitehouse kept the audience entertained with her clown-like antics and hysterical emotional swings.
Less Than Three may have benefitted from some extra workshopping, allowing scenes to be revised and possibly reordered. The vignettes sometimes moved too quickly, and at other times dragged out. Certain aspects, like Whitehouse’s clown character, were enjoyable but needed a greater context earlier in the play to achieve its full effect and gel with the rest of the piece.
