THEATRE
“It’s My Party
(And I’ll Die if I Want To)”
Writer, Elizabeth Coleman; director Catherine Hill for Canberra Repertory Society at Theatre 3 Acton, until August 16.
Reviewed by Helen Musa

IF casting is the most important part of directing a play, then Catherine Hill has certainly mastered the secret. Her current production for Canberra Repertory puts together a beautifully varied cast to play the Patterson family, gathered together when dictatorial father Ron (Ian Croker) announces that he has 111 minutes to live.
That, of course, is the main joke of the evening, and one that playwright Coleman (already known here for her play “Secret Bridesmaid’s Business”) makes good use of in this excruciatingly funny family comedy. I say “excruciating” because the cast manages to create a high recognition element that has audience members cringing in their seats as they see themselves on stage.
With Lesley Gore’s 1963 song “It’s My Party and I’ll Cry if I Want To” in the title and Bacharach’s and David’s 1965 number “What’s New Pussycat?” in the background, one might have expected this to be a night of retro-theatre. Not a bit of it. This script is fresh as it ripples through confrontations between Ron, his gay son Michael (Peter Holland), his unmarried daughter Debbie (Rachel Tyson), his sycophant daughter Karen (Gabrielle Denning-Cotter) and his loyal wife Dawn (Margaret Magner-Nadal). Cleverly, Coleman introduces a totally contrasting character, Ted the undertaker (John Rogers) to allow the macabre humour to proceed with conviction at the end.
Don’t miss this feast of acting and comic timing, and watch out for the particularly awful final scene in which father and son have a go at communicating.