Plays about Australian contemporary multicultural issues are few and far between. Many of them struggle to combine comedy with social commentary and end up alienating the audience, creating a performance that no one relates to. Alex And Eve, however, manages to strike exactly the right balance, and leaves the audience entertained as well as pondering.

Set in Sydney, Alex (played by the piece’s writer, Alex Lykos) is in his thirties, an Australian born to Greek parents who just want him to get married. To anyone, as long as she’s a “good Greek girl”. To their horror, Alex falls in love with Eve (Zoe Ventoura), a Lebanese muslim, who, unbeknownst to him, is already engaged to Mohammed, a “good muslim man”.

The audience could be forgiven for thinking this is going to be just a stage performance of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and that the motto “love conquers all” will win out in the end. But this is no Hollywood romantic comedy. Love does not necessarily overcome all obstacles, and for many families trying to hang onto their culture in a new country, love is no match for stability, religion, and cultural pride.

Alex And Eve explores the problems and concerns of inter-cultural relationships that are often glossed over in stories of this ilk. Yet this is not an anthropology lesson. Comic relief comes from Salvatore Coco as the buffon school student Chris, and both sets of parents who ham up the Greek and Lebanese stereotypes to cringing perfection.

The actors are brilliant and the script spot-on, reflecting many a conversation that happens in almost every first generation migrant families that I know of, judging by the audience’s reaction. It really struck a chord and there were times when the actors were drowned out by the audience’s screams of laughter in what I took to be self-recognition, as well as a response to the many in-jokes said in Greek and Arabic.

The only thing that flawed the performance was the absence of Paul Macksimmon in the prominent supporting role of Alex’s best friend (also called Paul). Paul had to be played by Robert Sharpe, who did a fantastic job as his character Bassam, but as Paul, kept reading from the script pasted inside his ever-present Ralph magazine.

Overall, Alex And Eve is a frank yet funny portrayal of relationships between kids who couldn’t care less but parents who do. It may look simple and unchallenging but there is an unpretentious air of truth to it and Australian theatre needs more plays like this.