Review: Guest Reviewer Kym Vaitiekus Shares His Thoughts On PARTY SNAKE

Tuesday, September 17, 8pm, Old 505 Theatre.

Guest Reviewer Kym Vaitiekus shares his thoughts on PARTY SNAKE

A drag Queen stumbles home to review her night, her life, her trials, her tribulations, her joy, her pain and her/his/their meaning.

We are welcomed into their cosy bedroom as they recover from and reflect on the preceding night. They recall how the journey has bought them to this place in their life.

The soliloquy which at times addresses the audience, warmly invites us into their world. It also challenges us on concepts around conformity, ways of being, expectations, the life of an artist and the nature of relationships.

After a boozy night of drink, drugs and performance our host laments the fun and misfortunes of the weekly party adventure.
This leads to recollections of the life that created the persona before us.
With jokes, quips and inner thoughts we discover the choices and events that create the people we are.
"Everything made us". "We are all part of the universal collective choice."

We hear of the inner demons that change her/his approach to being an artist, striving to find their true self.
How parents and their criticisms influence our way of being and then how we respond to the world. How these elements bring one to our own independence.

Most importantly how we present. What costume we wear (both cloth and flesh) are just choices, that deep down we are all alike. Our cores are the truth.

With this, our drag queen then deconstructs for us to see the daytime teacher that finds joy and celebration in his work. And in the small individuals that speak the truth.
Even though our inner selves are the same, here we see that different costumes make a difference in the world we live in. How these costumes affect the way the world reacts to us.

Our Drag queen explores that the way that we live in this world is partly due to our memories. Real or not, these memories change and affect how we operate today.

As a performer who needs a day job we explore the masochism that artists seem to endure. A machoism that may be in spite of the Art or may be intertwined in the artistic process.

We then explore the longing for love. The yearning- does this give us purpose?
We hear about the eventful loving relationship with Adam. We experience the joys of having a connected partner and the pain that matches those highs.

Our teacher plays 'Are you Lonesome Tonight'. When they mine to the spoken words in this song, I felt it would have been more powerful if the lip syncing was spot on.
This would have made a compelling contrast to the earlier Piaf song where the syncing was of less importance.
The strength in this rendition of 'Are you Lonesome Tonight' came when the Teacher matched the singing with his own voice. One of the many powerful moving moments of the night.

We never learn the characters name which I believe is an important device in representing that we are all on the same journey. Our Struggles are real, and in this story we find the aspects of this Drag Queen's personal journey that engage and entertain us.

Lachlan Martin plays the drag queen/teacher with such passion and conviction that you would think the writer credit is just a non de plume.
As the Drag queen he holds an elegant beautiful figure. One that has wit, insight, joy and sadness. As the teacher, a handsome man that reveals the inner pain and truthfulness.

Kotryna Gesait's script brings all these elements together in an eclectic way, cleverly exploring these notions of existence and of operating in a world of pain and pleasure.

She brings truth and depth to the concepts explored with gusto, insight and flare. Martin brings her story to life in a performance you should not miss. sc

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