Seminar: A Comedy (Chapel off Chapel) – theatre review

Writing is a solitary pursuit and when it comes to publication even to get to first base is not only inordinately difficult, but highly competitive. Insecurities and doubts are constant bedfellows, especially for the novice. Perfect fodder then for four up and comers, supposedly with talent, who are being told the way it is by a thunderously self-absorbed mentor in Seminar: A Comedy.

This is a provocative play from Pulitzer Prize nominee Theresa Rebeck. Young fiction writers Douglas (Darcy Kent), Martin (Mark Yeates), Kate (Cazz Bainbridge) and Izzy (Ra Chapman) pay $5,000 each for 10 weeks of instruction by international literary figure Leonard (Dion Mills). What they get is far more than they bargained for as he strips away any veneer and leaves them shell-shocked and clamouring for a foothold in an occupation where one is constantly treading on quicksand anyway. Under Leonard’s often reckless and unorthodox tutelage, some thrive and others flounder. Alliances are made and broken. Sex and verbiage are used as weapons, frequently cutting to the quick. In short, Seminar: A Comedy is a 90-minute power struggle.

All but one of the nine scenes are set in Kate’s spacious New York apartment that has been paid for by her parents. The greenhorns long for acceptance, more than that encouragement, or, better still, adulation from someone who has been there and done that. It took me some time to warm to what I was seeing and I found the second act more engaging and to my liking than the first. That was when the pace appeared to quicken and more twists were introduced.

The play opens with a precocious diatribe from the newbie with connections who has tickets on himself, the plummy Douglas. While humour may have been the goal, in my mind the pretentious crud coming from his mouth was a massive turn off. The language was positively nonsensical. Of course, that was the point. Instructor Leonard’s introduction in the second scene, when he slices and dices six years of Kate’s work, serves to ratchet up the tension. While I get what the narcissistic Leonard is all about, I thought Dion Mills over affected his characterisation.

Cazz Bainbridge, as Kate, was the stand out for me. Her character arc was more pronounced and she managed to take full advantage, even if a turnabout at the start of act two was too obvious. Douglas started with a flourish, but his persona waned or was subjugated by the strength of the others. Martin was the wimp, who had to learn to “grow a pair”, while Izzy used her natural assets to advance her cause.

A fast, dramatic and impressive set change under the auspices of Hugh Stephens sets up a tense and surprising final scene that, particularly pleasingly, gives Seminar more impact than it would otherwise have had. It leaves you asking the question: “who would really want to become a writer of fiction” if they saw the heartache and heartbreak involved in making the grade? The play opened on Broadway on 20 November 2011 and five years later you can see it at Chapel off Chapel, under the direction of Matthew Cox, until 26 November.

Alex First

All pictures: Theresa Harrison