The Pyramid

 The Pyramid is a suburban tragedy with a difference, breaking through the banality of everyday marriage to reveal inner personal battles that have devastating consequences for the small family of three involved.

 Midsumma FestivalStudio 1, Northcote Town Hall
Wednesday, 27 January, 2010

The Pyramid is a suburban tragedy with a difference, breaking through the banality of everyday marriage to reveal inner personal battles that have devastating consequences for the small family of three involved – married couple Jack (Don Bridges) and Kate (Felicity Steel) and their Scottish Terrier Pete (Mick Lo Monaco). As naff as humans acting as animals can be, Lo Monaco is definitely worth seeing as Pete, the glue that arguably keeps Jim and Kate’s marriage intact for longer than it should have. He’s their substitute for a child and ultimately Kate’s confidante; in what happens in many marriages across suburban Australia, the couple can’t talk to eachother so they talk to the dog instead. Consequently, Pete has a lot of secrets to reveal.
We sense that Jack and Kate have ‘settled’ for the sake of growing old with company rather than alone, and it becomes obvious very quickly that the only passionate love Kate can feel is for other women. And consequently, so begins a series of three monologues (one from each character), agonisingly charting the demise of their small, seemingly ‘normal’ family unit.
Jack’s monologue could have been extended on – I felt there was more to come from this character. Thanks to talented scriptwriter Siobhan Colman, the characters of Kate and Pete both have fantastic material to deliver, and Steel and Lo Monaco do both their pieces spine tingling justice, especially Steel, who has the responsibility of the most complicated character of the three.
There’s a confrontingly real sense of Australian domesticity conveyed by the set: a very ordinary living room and kitchen scenario. It’s what we discover that happens away from the comforts of the TV and the kettle that is most disturbing. It’s a shame that this show is somewhat hidden away in the audience-specific Midsumma Festival – I have a feeling it would have a considerable impact if presented in a more mainstream program.
Until February 7, 2010