In the battle between the generations, the outcome is inevitable; all that’s in question is what the victors will learn from the vanquished before their final defeat.
The Bridge by Sunny Grace, Richie Black and Clare Hennessy is a fun comedy.
But it’s also a story of generational conflict.
Alyssa is covering Medea’s Curse on Tik Tok.
Amanda, who wrote the song, is not impressed. She’s the archetypal bad girl of 90’s Aussie rock. She Gave-it-to-the-Man good and hard – and now she lives in Canley Vale with her adult son, teaching teenagers on Zoom to play Smoke on the Water.
Stories of generational conflict are as old as humanity. But our contemporaries often give two twists to this ancient tale.
The first twist – facilitated by our faith in Progress – is that the conflict is an ideological one, rather than just an unseemly scuffle for power. (Many people of a certain age will see in the self-righteousness of youth nothing more than an unconscious powerplay – and will look back at their own younger self with horror.)
The second twist – a product of a sociology infected by the disease of marketing – is that the generations are somehow monolithic, that to make generalised assertions about Boomers or Gen X is insightful rather than mere intellectual laziness.
The Bridge, though aware of these contemporary twists, sensibly delivers them light. Directed by Lucinda Gleeson, it focusses the audience not on pseudo-sociology, but on the terrific one-liners and the excellent comic performances.
Zoe Carides gives us an Amanda who is hilariously plain-speaking. Brendan Miles as her manager beautifully expresses the frustrations inevitable in the attempt to curb a force of nature. Hennessy as Alyssa is an engaging mix of exuberance, defiance and doubt. Matt Abotomey, in a range of roles, displays a thrilling comic virtuosity.
The production runs 95 mins and occasionally loses pace. I was left wondering whether the script would benefit from a trim. The story begins in the 90’s, but its heart is now. I’m not sure we really need to see any of the past. Let it be backstory and allow it to enrich the dialogue in the present (and this suggestion from someone who has too often complained about modern theatre’s obsession with backstory.)
And though the whole issue of whether these characters achieve fame or success was never going to resonate with a theatre reviewer, there remains a heartwarming comedy of the generations, and of the construction of bridges more important than any found in pop songs.
Paul Gilchrist
The Bridge by Sunny Grace, Richie Black and Clare Hennessy
Presented by CrissCross Productions in association with bAKEHOUSE Theatre
At KXT until 13 September
Image by Ravyna Jassani
Theatre Red 