Unrequited
Produced by Tunks Productions

Cast: Kate Maree-Hoolihan, Scott Major, Christie Hayes, Rick Cosnett, Catherine Kelleher, Wayne Tunks

Written by: Wayne Tunks

Publicist: Geoff Sirmai

Australian Premiere: Newtown Theatre, Sydney. Thursday, May 31, 2007.


The Lowdown:
The latest in a number of Wayne Tunks plays of the time. Was generally well received.


AussieTheatre.com Review:
Wayne Tunks is a man on a mission and certainly one to be admired. The gusto with which he writes, directs and performs theatre is veritably unstoppable. His latest work, Unrequited, playing at the Newtown Theatre is typical of his style – uniquely Australian characters dealing with the ups and downs of life and love. You don’t have to go much further than the play’s title to determine the plot. Every character desires someone else, not everyone speaks their mind, people get hurt, people break up, and of course, people get together.

In Unrequited, Tunks takes on a producing and acting role, entrusting the direction to Greg Hatton who also performs. It centres on a group of friends who met at university, and in the years since, time has strengthened some relationships and strained others. Kate Maree Hoolihan plays Gabby, a strong-willed and outspoken socialite, who is being secretly admired by Scott Major, who plays Jeremy. Jeremy is in turn admired by flamboyant Christian (Rick Cosnett), whilst his best mate Alana (Catherine Kelleher) sighs alongside, touting her own relationship woes. Christie Hayes and Hatton play Brooke and Vince, a couple on the verge of collapse, whose own breakdown causes a ripple-effect in the lives of others.

With the twists and turns, relationship bust-ups and general immaturity of this group of friends, it is refreshing that Tunks parallels their chaos with the predicament of thirty-something Alistair (played by Tunks). He spends the majority of the play at the side of his beloved wife (Rachel McNamara) who lies in a coma, reading her stories, relating the daily news, and providing a very different outlook on ‘unrequited’ love.

There are certainly some strong performances. Tunks lends humility and poignancy to his portrayal of a man clinging on to what he knows is gone. Kate Maree Hoolihan is formidable as the stubborn and hapless Gabby. Her tendency to combat her lovelorn state with constant swigs from a wine bottle provides some of the more amusing scenes. Likewise with Rick Cosnett as Christian, the homosexual lusting after ‘the most hetrosexual guy on the planet’ is deliciously hilarious.

However the truth is that Unrequited would probably benefit from being a one-act play. Within 15 minutes of the play opening, the audience has the characters figured out. We know who is going to get together, who is going to break up, and who is going to make that inevitable and life-changing decision. As a result, the sheer length of the play makes poignant moments lag, and scenes of high energy are gradually stretched to their limits, appearing dramatically diluted. The characters that at first seemed engaging were soon irritating. I found myself longing for ‘him and her’ to break up or get together, my patience almost at breaking point.

There is no denying that Tunks’ production is memorable for some fine performances and brilliant moments of confusion and hilarity. It is an entertaining play that would benefit from some serious editing to make it great.

Production Shots:











Further Information:
None available