Theatre review: The Slip Lane at the Street Theatre is suburban satire

Over the years, The Street Theatre has established an enviable reputation as a promoter of original work, created and presented by local artists. Julian Hobba's latest work for Aspen Island Theatre Company is The Slip Lane, a quirky, often absurdist suburban satire, set in Canberra's expanding outer suburb of Gungahlin.

Matthew (Dene Kermond) is a public servant, intent on a mission to establish a slip lane at the intersection of Gundaroo Road and Gungahlin Drive to relieve traffic congestion. At the local Access Canberra office he meets single parent, Missy (Clare Moss) who is seeking help to get rid of a three-headed beast that is terrorising her home.

Fantasy or reality? Illusion or delusion? Who can tell? And who are the two chequerboard costumed characters who materialise in a number of roles (Emma Strand and Nick Delatovic)? Are they personifications of the demon, agents of the devil or tempters to exercise their devious power over the despairing, desperate and despondent Matthew?

Imogen Keen's design of projected images of Gungahlin opens with a scene of buildings and the GECCON – Building Gungahlin slogan of "A visionary living experience." Is the slip lane a metaphor for a route of escape from the isolation and artificiality of Canberra's ever burgeoning outer suburbs? Is Matthew's battle with the demons an attempt to create a sanctuary of peace and freedom for Missy and himself against the forces of political will. Is light rail the answer?

Audiences may need to find the answers for themselves in a production that is at times bewildering and impeded by awkward directorial technique. Disruptive and effectively unnecessary set changes interrupt the continuity and the sense of the play's intent. In the absence of a dramaturgical eye, the play becomes a sequence of seemingly unconnected scenes. The simultaneous dialogue and amplification of Strand and Delatovic's voices to lend the hydra-headed demon's utterances an alien quality made it difficult to understand the gist of Hobba's text.

Only in the final scene do the production and the script capture the vitally needed empathy with the despairing Matthew, struggling to come to terms with his sense of alienation and committing himself to a Faustian pact. Moments of wit and humour throughout the play evoke a modicum of laughter from the audience, due to the assured and experienced performances of the actors. It is an ensemble that I would like to see in a more challenging and engaging work.

It is often said that playwrights would be well advised not to direct their own work. There are exceptions, but if Aspen Island Theatre Company is to reach its goal of being "a sustainable, professional theatre company" it may need more than the excellent professional cast and production team that it has assembled for The Slip Lane.