You never knew local government could be this sexy.
'Local Laws', a new play from the kooky minds of Rose Bishop and Elyce Phillips, is here to change the way you think about the goings-on in the call centre of your local council. Actually. . . They’re here to prove that most of the things you thought you know about local council are probably true, but there might be a little more spice and chaos than you had otherwise assumed.
’Local Laws’ is a very sweet, very endearing, and very bloody funny hour-long play that delivers many a clever riff on stereotypical council worker energy. First, we meet Rose (played by Rose Bishop), who doesn’t seem to take much joy from her job, yet has been in the role for more than five years. Soon after, Linda emerges from the audience, played to absolute hilarity by Elyce Phillips, and the discourse between Rose and Linda (separated by a phoneline) begins.
The concept is simple. A mysterious hole has appeared in the nature strip outside Linda’s home. Rose takes the call from Linda and now must solve this problem. She calls Trevor, also played by Elyce Phillips, who hammily switches between the two characters (as well as an extra third later) with masterful skill. Trevor is supposed to fix the problem with the hole. And that’s it. Or so you might think. But as mystery surrounding the hole deepens (pardon the pun), so too does the plot. All the while, the jokes continue and the cleverness of the show's concept shines through.
Together, Rose and Elyce have written a delightful show that allows Elyce to flex her skills at bringing goofy characters to life and enables Rose play out what seems to be an exaggerated version of her own hilarious life on stage. Not only is the script wonderful, but this show is also staged impressively well, with the use of fun lighting throughout to pull off some fun stylistic flair that gives a nod to the horror and thriller genres.
Take a break from the same old stand-up shows, and grab tickets to see a play this festival season, you’ll have a brilliant time!
