Review: Vigil

As published in yesterday's Sun-Herald.

Vigil
Old Fitzroy
Until 28 March
Tickets $21-$35
Bookings 1300 438 849
Critic’s Rating 7/10


Being on your deathbed is hard enough as it is but when a long lost relative turns up to hurry you along, you’re sure to find yourself fighting against the odds.

Vigil by Canadian playwright Morris Panych is a wicked little black comedy which follows Kemp (Travis Cotton), an anti-social and politically incorrect loner who comes to see off his dying aunt Grace (Gertraud Ingeborg). Days turn into weeks, the weeks into months and Kemp, who has only one set of clothes, gets increasingly impatient.

He is unashamed in his wish to send her off, telling her at one stage that he is worried about her health: “I think you might be getting better”. Indeed, the whole play is littered with evil and hilarious one-liners straight out of a Monty Python skit. But as time goes on, Kemp starts pondering his own life and mortality.

It’s a very unusual choice for this small theatre which usually programs edgier new Australian works; this play is a little safe. But it is a beautifully realised production directed by Susanna Dowling. With some amazing live music performed by Ekrem Mulayim, this production doesn’t overplay the comedy and the result is a piece which ends up being quite touching and profound.