Theatre / Slap.Bang.Kiss, by Dan Giovannoni, directed by Katy Maudlin. At The Q, September 11. Reviewed by ARNE SJOSTEDT.

Essentially a protest play and a call to action for those outside the norms of experience to find their voice, Slap.Bang.Kiss. tells three stories and knits them together in a tightly packed hour of theatre.

Like watching an hour of news, the show moved quickly between disparate scenes, using a common set and its dialogue, which was sometimes shared among its cast, to blend each world together. With three actors on stage playing the main characters, but 38 characters in total, it was challenging to follow action and wait for the moment where you realised which story was being told.

A pastiche of concepts and delivery, blending theatrical forms like naturalistic acting and direct address, the micro-episodic drama unfolded like watching an episode of Black Mirror.

The story of a world record attempt for the longest kiss became a dominant narrative, made interesting because it was between two teenage boys. Yet the other two tales on the surface were far more shocking and serious – a school-ground shooting and an act of violence by a civilian against a peacekeeper.

Touching on the influence of various forms of media, the freedom to kiss a member of the same sex in a public space is challenged by prejudice or authority. When this is juxtaposed alongside the seemingly far more serious issues around social control and extreme violence, the play invites audience members to investigate the levels of oppression in their own and other’s lives.

This play was produced by the Melbourne Theatre Company for its Families and Education Program. Essentially for younger audiences, it works as an introduction to the concept of social protest and the power of the individual, or collection of individuals, to gain attention and enact change.

The overall atmosphere of oppression and often underlying seriousness around the lives of its characters was greatly amplified by Ian Moorhead’s inventive and enveloping sound design. However, for the most part, the production leant more on the messages being delivered than the characters its audience were supposed to care about.

The result was an at times difficult to follow collection of narratives, that did not strongly keep the necessary emotional buy in from its audience to move beyond the concepts it was delivering, into creating a deep and engrossing experience.