King Street Theatre delivers Edward Albee's brilliant farce but little more. The script is a hilarious tragicomedy that sees its protagonist, an award-winning architect, announce that he is having an affair with Sylvia, a goat. The brazen script performed is worth a watch. The laughs come ripping forth from the absurdity of the affair and it's a thrilling single act play. Sexual and moral tensions take the forefront of the intellectual discussion and heartache, love (in many forms), homophobia, incest, and murder are their intimate partners.
While the play may make us laugh and think, Barry Walsh's clunky direction questioned the action's sincerity. Moments of punctuated farce and anger (one example: breaking plates) served to distract the audience, rather than inflating the farce to exemplify underlying tensions. The melodramatic moments were often addressed as if they were classically serious drama which saw them miss their mark.
Kiki Skountzos enlivened the stage with all the energy an audience could hope for. She was the light and life of the stage. Her partner, Jeremy Burtenshaw, did not match her vivaciousness, nor her depth. His performance as leading man suffered from lack of colour or motion. He struck a single effective tone but his inability to modulate saw him give a lacklustre performance.
The Goat, Or Who Is Sylvia? was ripping fun and would evolve into something special if the cast and crew worked to develop it further.
