TWO

Pull up a bar stool and  get to know the regulars in this timeless classic  of the stage.

By Anna Dowd

Written by Jim Cartwright and directed by Ensemble Theatre’s Mark Kilmurry, Two introduces 14 colourful characters, all skilfully played by Brian Meegan and Kate Raison.

Set in a country pub, the two main characters are a middle-aged married couple that run the establishment. 

Over the years they’ve served every type of person – and you get to meet them in a series of funny, heart-warming and poignant vignettes.

Raison says from the outset Carwright, who is from Northern England, believed it to be a universal story with characters you could find anywhere around the world.

“It’s very much that voyeuristic idea of sitting in a pub or bar somewhere and seeing maybe an old lady in her chair, having a drink at the end of the day, and thinking to yourself ‘I wonder what her story is?’,” she says.

“That’s what he’s done, he gives her a voice so the audience gets to see her story.”

Meegan and Raison, married in real life, say playing seven diverse characters in the one play is a wonderful challenge for an actor.

“There’s no time for elaborate costume changes or makeup or anything like that,” Raison says.

“It’s just changing the physical nature of the character and the voice and embedding them with qualities the audience can see straight away.”

She says the response so far has been overwhelmingly positive.

“There are characters that we’ve figured out are hugely popular with audiences and get massive laughs,” she says.

“But we’ve also had people come up to us afterwards who’ve found the play really powerful and quite cathartic.

“We need and want theatre that challenges us and speaks to us, and I think Jim Cartwright just does that so well.”

TWO Fri 3 May | Darwin Entertainment Centre | $49 | $45 Memb/Conc | yourcentre.com.au