A Bed of Roses | Arbour Theatre Company
Last night I joined the house mates of Rose Street at the house party of the year! Or at least, it was supposed to be, before the government called another lockdown and we, the party guests, were stuck there with them in their ‘COVID party’, as their plans for a blissful, celebratory evening slowly unravelled before us.
A Bed of Roses is an immersive, emotionally-charged, comedic show with no stage, no fourth wall, and a sort of ‘choose your own adventure’ experience to be had.
Marty (Oliver English), Kev (Ben Snaith), Circle (Asia Beck), Emily (Maisie Crosdale) and Jonathan (Francis Rosbrook) welcomed us into the space with smiling faces as if we were the guests at their house party. From the beginning, the actors were mingling through the crowd, establishing a clear lack of a fourth wall for the night. To my fellow introverts, don’t let this aspect scare you off. It was interactive but only to the extent that the audience wanted. At times the crowd were called upon for input, but always gently and no one was singled out. There were even some activities off to the side that we could interact with, perfect for anyone who needed a break from the central action that was taking place. I thought these were a nice touch.
If you’ve ever lived in an inner-city share house you’ll recognise some of the characters; among them is the ‘mum’ housemate, the housemate that “borrows” other people’s things (does he even pay rent?), and the controlling, micro-managing housemate, holder of the knowledge of the correct way to do the dishes. I found the characters and their struggles quite relatable - parts reminded me all too much of my own lockdown experiences, and other parts were things I’m glad I didn’t have to deal with during lockdown!
The five improv actors were so good I kept forgetting they were acting. They did an incredible job of staying in character despite so much distraction around them, while also handling the crowd through the scene changes.
As the stress of the situation escalates, personal agendas clash and the tension sizzles between the housemates and all of their worst personality traits bubble to the surface – a whole lot of snarky, highschool-esque cattiness and conflict. Witnessing up close these shifting group dynamics was intense at times, but this was intermittently broken up by expert comedic timing and some hilariously odd moments that arose from this particular performance format.
The chosen venue of an old Queenslander house was an interesting space to interact with and super appropriate as the typical architecture of many a Brisbane share house, complete with passive-aggressive post-it notes up and down the walls. The beauty of having an entire house as the stage, often with multiple scenes unfolding simultaneously in different rooms, meant that we could choose which characters’ storylines we wanted to follow more closely and interact with. Having some autonomy over the way the story is revealed adds an extra dimension to the theatre format and makes it seem that much more real. That being said, the freedom to move around also means you will likely be on your feet for most of the evening, so wear comfortable shoes!
It’s the kind of show that will be different every time and no two viewers will have the same experience of it. Go on your own and make friends with the characters, or take a bunch of your friends along, split up and compare your differing experiences after the party.
On its opening night A Bed of Roses was an absolute hit and I can’t wait to see where Arbour Theatre Company takes it from here. Well done to all involved!
