Review: Ollie and the Minotaur

Ollie and the Minotaur
Downstairs Belvoir
Until 3 May
Tickets $23-29
Bookings (02) 9699 3444
Critic’s Rating 7/10


Ollie and the Minotaur opens like a fresh sea breeze of familiarity as old school friends Thea, Bec and Carla come together for a coastal weekend reunion.

It’s the type of weekend based on simple pleasures we’ve all had – lie in the sun, get drunk, relive your youth and maybe listen to Gen X anthems like Pump Up The Jam for good measure.

The dominant Thea (Wendy Bos) and the more retiring Bec (Sarah Brokensha) arrive first and from the first moments a pecking order of their status is established. Advertising executive Carla (Adriana Bonaccurso) is not far behind them as she quickly dons her sunnies and starts ordering young Bec to fix her a gin and tonic.

From Shakespeare to Chekhov, the dramatic potential and tension provided by three women on stage has been used by the greats of the stage.

Ollie and the Minotaur is no different. The three talk about boys, dance and yell madly but the innocence of their get-together unravels as a dark secret between the three opens a Pandora’s box.

It’s here that the dramatic tension lifts off and takes what could be a very ordinary plot into a complicated and more sinister world.

Working with three quite wonderful performers, playwright Duncan Graham has grabbed that tradition and developed a story that is engrossing and, when it reaches the end, very disturbing.

Director Sarah John allows the story to be told with a respectful simplicity and allows the gifted actors to deliver what is a sharp, realistic and well-crafted new Australian play.