Review: A PAPER TALE - THE ADELAIDE OFFICE LIVE : ADELAIDE FRINGE 2018 at Wilkin Group The Square

Reviewed by Christine Pyman, Thursday 15th February 2018.

This extremely funny show, based on the UK and US television programmes, The Office, is a highly polished performance from entrance to exit. Each actor played an essential part in the unfolding drama, with Hayley Horton's direction dictating individual activities that all brilliantly meld into a seamless production.

The audience are immersed in an induction nightmare at a paper sales company, where ordinary staff members and executives play out their idiosyncratic power games between bouts of office sexual attraction, bullying and group pep talks.

Set in a real office in the heart of the CBD, cleverly utilising the connecting office spaces, A Paper Tale gives insights into some peoples everyday work experiences, shown in the most humorous way possible. Combining printed signs, puns and acronyms, this self-parodying performance, presented in the form of a reality experience, highlights the inner madness that office boredom often hides.

Technical failures exacerbate human frailty and coping mechanisms. Interactions of people forced to spend a great deal of their time together cause degeneration of civilities. From the manic manager, to the deadpan HR officer, the officious office bore, and the secretary who holds the business together, the six-person cast were spot on with their portrayal of these stereotypes.

Andy Trimmings' portrayal of Mark, the insouciant, clueless, manic manager, was much more relatable and well-acted than his television counterpart. The HR manager Sheryl, Georgia Stockham, showed a threatening passive aggression that I'm sure that would've made anyone who has ever been to a job interview cringe inside, and will make them sit watching, uneasily, wondering if they were adequate. The humourless office pedant Dwayne, played scarily well by Matt Houston, is a type that we have all run across, and wished we hadn't. Well worth experiencing, especially for anyone who is subjected to the daily office experience.