Bright Shiny and Green Night

Bright Shiny and Green Night, presented at the La Mama Courthouse, is a double-bill that explores complex concepts through whimsical language.

Bright Shiny is an absurd satire about extreme earnestness while Green Night explores the surreal question “What would you do if you found the ocean’s floor had transported itself into your abdominal cavity?” Needless to say, the works are bizarre and the concepts imaginative. In Bright Shiny, Bunnings employees are recruited to communicate with and provide guardianship to animals that are the last of their kind. The writing is lyrical and well delivered, especially by Maude Davey. However, despite some quite beautiful moments, particularly the whale sequence, the work on the whole drags slightly. Furthermore, Glynis Angell’s interpretation of the devil character needlessly grates as no explanation is given as to why they have a foreign accent. Green Night, meanwhile, is set in a dystopian future where the world’s oceans have been destroyed. Intricate costumes and quick set changes define the work as the audience is taken through progressive dream-like sequences. It’s difficult to connect with the content but it’s pleasant letting the visuals and text wash over you. Bright Shiny and Green Night are commendable for uniqueness and ideas, but the execution drags and it’s easy to get left lost and perplexed.