The Companion
A good choice of opener – just the right air of gothic and mystery as a piper leads a young girl craving company around a graveyard. Directed by Naomi Rossdeutscher (an IF nominee), it is well-acted and intriguing, throwing a not-so-celibate priest, the girl’s younger sister and everyone’s mortality into the mix. It was a performance that let you believe what you want, instead of shoving a plot down your throat, although the ending was slightly too Lord-of-the-rings for my liking.

The Knife Catches The Sun
This mirrored week one’s ‘exploration of the writing process’ piece. This involved two people coming up with, creating, becoming, a tragic story. Weaving in and out of reality, the ‘story within the story’ was cleverly done and original. The story itself however, was predictable and tedious.

Milk And Water
The plot consists of a stand-up comedian not appreciating his partner and not being a good father to their daughter. Sounds banal, but this piece actually had convincing and enjoyable dialogue – including a brilliant comparison of religion with scrabble. Acted by Daniel Collopy and Lisa Kowalski (and a doll), the story seemed pretty universal but was well-executed and thought-provoking, although there didn’t seem to be a climax or a resolution.

Slam!
The best thing about this piece was its choreography. A couple dance the tango and say words like ‘Biscuits. Ten-thirty. Darling’ at each other while Trouble (in the shape of a thin, svelte lady) watches, plays with a rope and calls out words like ‘synchronicity’. As the dancing gets more fast-paced and intense, so do the words, until the characters sound like they’re reading a Dr. Seuss book crossed with a thesaurus. (‘Hot. What? Cot.’). The lighting is dramatic and so is the dancing.

The Stallion Of Death
Written by Drew Fairly, this was my pick of the night – for doing away with pretentiousness and taking the piss out of the ‘Rugged Australian Bush Drama’. Full of innuendo and referencing ‘great’ Australian legends such as Picnic At Hanging Rock and the poems of Banjo Patterson, it is the earnest and deadpan acting of Kate Worsley and Gibson Nolte that make this spoof a hoot.

Hardcore
This was another gem of week two, and not just because of the partial nudity and same-sex kissing! It told the story of an accident and the reactions of two couples. It’s well-timed, interesting and keeps the audience guessing. It’s also performed really well and expertly directed by John Sheedy.

Rust
Maybe I am too cynical but self-indulgent monologues about painful childhood memories bore me. Or maybe I am bored with the format. Rust was well-delivered, with the actress delivering raw emotion through her voice and real tears as she recollected her ‘father’s fists and their fibro house’. But if it was intended to shock, it didn’t, and if it was intended to make the audience feel pity, it didn’t because of the aggression in it.

Sex With Strangers
This lightened the mood considerably – a scrawny man’s first visit to a prostitute (who in red and yellow garb, looked more like Ronald McDonald), and as expected, he is nervous about telling her what he really wants. His fetish is exposed and he leaves the stage a happy man. This play was concise and well-acted, but not really a stand-out with no real memorable dialogue.

The Curse Of The Horned Babby
This was a bizarre piece about a Monty Python-esque lute player who wanted to immortalise the city of Grunterville in song. (Singing Hey Nonny-nonny as all good lute players do.) He stumbles across three women who tell him, in convincing Irish accents, frightening tales of a horned babby who ate their menfolk and did all kinds of mischievous deeds. This is quite amusing and well-performed by the four actors although the lute-player is annoyingly poncy. It’s only fault is that it feels like it goes nowhere, is predictable and not very exciting.