20 December 2011 (Theatre Review)

Star rating: 2.5/5

Title: Tricycle of Horrible Notions
Company: Filibusters Company
Written and directed by: Joseph Ryan
Cast: Ryan McConnell, Jack Larkin, Joanna Kelly
Venue: The Little Green Street Gallery

It's always inspiring to experience a piece of theatre in a non-traditional, off the beaten track, venue - even more so when the piece is developed and performed by such a vibrant and young theatre company as The Filibusters Company. The enthusiasm was palpable from the off among the company members and was carried throughout the performance, spurred on by what I suspect where many friendly faces in the audience. Tricycle of Horrible Notions features a writer, known only as "The Young Man" who sits alone in a room, a Hawaiian shirt clad devil his sole companion.
The Young Man is consumed by his need to exorcise the play that lingers on the precipice of his imagination and is tormented by cliches, mental blocks and a largely unhelpful voiceover. One gets the feeling that the subject matter is autobiographical but, while the "writing a play within a play" motif is cleverly executed at times, I would question whether this is enough to carry an entire play. There is doubtless comic talent in the writing, with the cast blessed with the ability to carry off the endless quips, puns and regrettable in-jokes that I wouldn't say punctuate, but rather, make up the dialogue.

This play shows promise both from the cast and the writer but at the moment I would venture to say Filibusters Company are attempting to run before they can walk. Towards the end of the play the devil and The Young Man discuss how the play needs "a head, an abdomen, a thorax" something Tricycle of Horrible Notions is lacking, and while it is reassuring to learn that the company are not blindly feeling their way through the dark and muddy realms of postmodernism, I would still argue that acknowledging the issues with the piece does not necessarily excuse them. Ryan McConnell, Jack Larkin and Joanna Kelly are all completely watchable with Joanna Kelly particularly strong and Ryan McConnell's Trainwatching-esque rant on social networking a stand-out moment and one in which writer Joseph Ryan proved he is more than empty clichés and existential gags. There are undeniable signs of intelligence, creativity and talent here and while I wouldn’t necessarily rush back to see a repeat performance of this show, I will certainly be intrigued to see what The Filibusters Company brings us in the future.