Mr Red Light is a comedy play written by Carl Bland, directed by Ben Crowder and produced by Nightsong about a bungling bank robber (Brayden Cresswell) who holds three people hostage in a pie shop after failing to pull off a bank heist. Wearing a red mask the thief at first terrifies the others with a loaded gun.
The other three are include the shop’s attendant known as Joker (Angus Stevens) who is full of idealism, a slight acquaintance of his called Chrys (Nova Moala-Knox), who is surly and dissatisfied with life. And the third is Eva (Jennifer Ludlam), an elderly lady with mobility issues and a very sharp tongue.
These disparate people are all damaged in their own ways, and after the robber, now taking the name Mr Red Light, bursts in their lives change in remarkable ways. Mr Red Light is odd and manic with a seemingly mild case of OCD and possibly ESP since he seems to instinctively know things about the other three.
As time passes we learn more about each person and the shifting dynamics between them as gunman tries to main control and the others plot to escape.
This is a sharply written play full of comedic moments and a fair amount of puns which are exploited exceedingly well by a magnificent cast. Cresswell as Mr Red Light delivers a well rounded mix of slapstick and farce and yet also some deep emotional subtlety to this character.
His cast mates are just as strong and create memorable, funny, and well developed characters. The playwright Carl Bland also makes an appearance as several ancillary characters one of which is an anthropomorphised ant with a philosophical bent.
As with any Nightsong production the set is striking and the production utilises a number of extra props and technical aspects as well as sleight of hand techniques to up the drama and of course the comedy. There are some hilarious fight scenes, cleverly orchestrated flashbacks, and even a ‘date’ scene which was incredibly funny.
Mr Red Light is a flawlessly executed comedy that is at times thought provoking and ultimately about how truly listening to one another leads to understanding.
Photo credit – Victor Staaf.
