[Play Removed Due to Legal Advice]
Play not actually removed due to legal advice, but instead attempts to engage in a witty dissection of threats to the freedoms we all hold dear. Unfortunately the over-emphasis on satire with a capital S leaves little time for other considerations. Scenes tumble over each other in a confused mess, to little effect.

Snap!
A middle aged chap is haunted by the ghost of a childhood playmate. As they progress through game of Snap, we learn how she died and the role that her now grown-up friend played in her demise. An occasionally touching play, with Ruth Bell’s script being a strange blend of poignancy and banality.

UnAustralian
More satire with a capital S! Here we have a Polish-born Australian citizen interrogated by thong-and-tattoo-wearing agents of the Commonwealth UnAustralian Bureau. There are a couple of laugh-out-loud moments, but overall it falls a little flat. Expecting your audience to laugh at series of bland statements like “Reading is UnAustralian” is a little lazy.

The Capsule
An older guy hooks up with a hot young chick via the Internet. Obviously this is not going to end happily. Most of the script is fairly predictable, but writer Bruce Hoogendoorn finds a fresh way to finish the story.

Bomb Disposal
This one made my night. Great script by Kate Toon; hilarious performances by Matt Butcher, Simon Dooley and most especially Deborah Peebles. Unhappy English tourists are in full whingeing-Pom mode when local boy Bazza decides to give them a friendly welcome. A funny, clever and entertaining clash of cultural stereotypes.

The Re-Education Of A Worker From The Number Eight People’s Revolutionary Bicycle Factory
A Communist official and a “traitorous” factory worker wrestle over the fallout of Tiananmen Square. As the young bicycle builder relives the events leading up to the tragedy, it becomes apparent that the political is actually very personal for both him and the woman who interrogates him.

Survivors
This play aimed to be the theatrical version of a joke. The one where a group of people in a sinking ship try to decide who should get into the lifeboat based on the usefulness of their occupation. The premise is promising, but it gets stuck on setting up the joke in excruciating detail without getting to the punchline.

The Neils
While this did at times have the air of a high school sketch, I loved The Neils. An office is populated by a plethora of Neils who don’t take too kindly to outsiders. Despite the fact that they are dressed the same each performer manifests a special dysfunction that makes him special. Despite a few flat patches, The Neils was one of the brighter spots of the evening.

Protest
No satire with a capital S here, but nonetheless there is a message. Writer Tom Taylor takes his cue from the APEC protests in this examination of threats to the freedoms we all hold dear, etc etc. Luckily Taylor’s script is quite effective, with actors Erin Gordon and Michael Sjolander establishing a good rapport.

The Interview
Patrick Lenton’s The Interview ends the evening on a high. A working mother finds herself engaged in rigourous mental gymnastics. Desperate for a job, she is interviewed by a lunatic who thinks he is merely eccentric. Anthony Hunt seems to be channelling anyone who ever performed in an episode of Monty Python, while Laura Munro is an able foil.