Putting on the ditz: Shane Jacobson, Todd McKenney, Lucy Durack and PennyMcNamee. Photo: Pia Johnson
Neil Simon wrote this wonderful comedy in 1965, and if it were a novel that would make it ‘historical’ fiction. As a play perhaps it is a period piece? Whatever, because it is about human idiosyncrasy it remains, under the direction of Mark Kilmurry and the ‘dream team’ he has assembled, as fresh and funny as it must have been when it premiered. Todd McKenney (Felix) and Shane Jacobsen (Oscar) are perfectly cast as the odd couple, rattling off Simon’s whipsmart dialogue at a snappy pace, and getting well deserved laughs as a result.
And while the action revolves around Felix and Oscar, two very different divorcés thrown together as flatmates and with very different ideas about hygiene, tidiness and economics, the rest of the ensemble – friends and neighbours played by such names as Jamie Oxenbould, Lucy Durack and Anthony Taufa – do more than complement the odd couple, blustering, cooing or raising their eyes to the heavens as they bring two hours of comedic entertainment into life.
The opening scene is a poker game in Oscar’s messy flat in New York. Since his divorce, Oscar has revelled in being a slob. His friends – Murray (Taufa), Roy (John Batchelor), Vinnie (Oxenbould) and Speed (Laurence Coy) – might moan about the mouldy sandwiches and warm beer but they don’t really care. They’re more interested in complaining about their wives. Then Felix, who has been AWOL, turns up to announce his marriage is over. And needs somewhere to stay. The scene is soon set for some serious flatmate disagreements – whether it’s Oscar’s lack of interest in cooking or his budget mismanagement or Felix’s manic insistence on cooking and punctuality. Here are life’s little troubles writ large. Made funnier because both men are turning into the the wives they criticise.
Kilmurry’s ‘dream team’ works a treat, but as well as Jacobsen and McKenny, special mention, too, to Oxenbould’s Vinnie, who never fails to raise a laugh when it’s his turn to get a word in.
The second act sees a shift in tone. Oscar has invited his neighbours – two eligible British girls– down for a dinner, and maybe something more if the evening goes well. But Felix is in a funk because they’re late and his meal might spoil, and the two girls – Cecily and Gwendoline (shades of Oscar Wilde here) –played by Lucy Durack and Penny McNamee are delightfully ridiculous. They simper and giggle to the hilt, and their exhalations of laughter – akin to a rubber ring deflating – are hilarious. They could not be more ditzy and their comic timing is spot on.
One of the things that makes this production so enjoyable is the attention to detail. Justin Nardella’s set design gives us a flat where wedding photos and old school photos can be seen behind the period furniture; the costumes (by Billy Roache) are a hoot in themselves – from Vinnie/Oxenbould’s truly awful throwback of an apricot nylon shirt with embroidery print detail to the Pigeon sisters’ ’60s frocks (and those thick beige tights atop stiletto heels). When Felix comes in wielding on old-fashioned upright vacuum cleaner (not a Dyson, believe me), there were sighs of recognition. References to Brillo pads might have been lost on some, but not the ramifications of Felix’s domestic blitz.
The Odd Couple has become a classic, and although it is 60 years old it still raises plenty of laughs, especially in this oh-so-polished production.
Until 28 July
Tickets $69.90-$179.90
More: https://www.theatreroyalsydney.com/events/season-2024/the-odd-couple/
