Review: Relationships all at sea in The Puzzle by David Williamson
Australia’s most successful playwright David Williamson marks 50 years at the Playhouse with a bedroom farce set on a cruise ship.
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Review: The Puzzle
Dunstan Playhouse
Until October 12
Five decades might have passed since State Theatre commissioned playwright David Williamson’s drama The Department to open the Playhouse – but his latest comedy could still have been set in the raunchy mid-1970s.
Put aside the occasional references to AI programming or text messaging, and The Puzzle is a classic bedroom farce which exposes more human foibles than it does flesh.
Think of it as Don’s Party at Sea, with a salacious dash of Carry On Cruising thrown in for good measure.
Even the wah-wah guitar of the funk-soul soundtrack by Andrew Howard wouldn’t be out of place on one of the porn “videos” the characters refer to, as if dusty old cassettes haven’t been long superseded by the internet.
Uptight dad and boring accountant Drew (Erik Thomson) attempts to reconnect with his 20-something daughter by accidentally booking them on what turns out to be a swinger’s cruise, finding out more about her lifestyle than he’d intended in the process.
Making her professional Adelaide hometown debut as the relationship “fluid” daughter Cassie, Ahunim Abebe is a playful delight and definitely a talent to watch.
Nathan O’Keefe, Ansuya Nathan, Chris Asimos and Anna Lindner round out the cast as two cruise couples, each comprising one enthusiastic swinger and a reticent partner.
Director Shannon Rush moves the actors about in lengthy segues between scenes like chess pieces on Ailsa Paterson’s stunning, streamlined ocean liner set, which combines a bar, bedrooms, sun deck and a communal jigsaw puzzle table in one sleek design that would make an enviable harbour view apartment.
The innuendos, double entendres and outrageously forthright sexual references generally hit the mark for laughs with older audience members, as does Asimos’s peacock-like muscle display, but might not sit well with more “woke” viewers.
Inevitably, certain characters jeopardise everything they already have in pursuit of something more, and come undone thanks to their greed and lust.
However, all of them seem to walk away content with their consolation prizes – except perhaps the poor sage-like Drew, who gets nothing except the last word.
Patrick McDonald
BIG DREAMS COME TRUE FOR CHILDREN’S FESTIVAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY
Budding artist Fidak’s big dream came true when her design won the poster and program competition for next year’s DreamBIG Children’s Festival.
Fidak, aged 10, is in Year Five at Blair Athol North B-6 School, and used paint and coloured markers to create her artwork, titled Funky Emotions.
“Thinking like quiet bubbles and through painting funky emotions I made funky bubbles to remind people to be funny and funky, and not to be sad,” she said.
DreamBIG, which was originally known as Come Out, will release its 2025 schools program on Tuesday to mark the event’s 50th anniversary.
From May 7 to 17, thousands of students from across the state will unite at the Adelaide
Festival Centre, city locations, regional venues and schools to be entertained by more
than 300 artists in 51 events and workshops.
DreamBIG creative producer Georgi Paech said its popular opening parade would return on May 7 at the Festival Centre, or teachers could choose to host their own parades at their schools.
“At DreamBIG, we believe that the arts nurture the values and skills that young people need to thrive,” Ms Paech said.
“It is through this lens that we’ve put together our 50th anniversary program, which reflects on the festival’s legacy, while contemplating how it might evolve in the future.”
More than 2.5 million children have participated in the festival since its inception in 1974.
DreamBIG 2025 highlights include:
Fancy Long Legs – A glittery musical adventure, based on the picture book by tinsel and craft icon Rachel Burke.
Glow & Tell – Imagined worlds brought to life through the magic of light, by SA’s Patch Theatre.
The Princess, The Pea (and The Brave Escapee) – A reimagining of the fairytale, featuring live music by the Australian Chamber Orchestra.
Tin Can Radio – A creative workshop exploring the world of broadcasting via a
pop-up radio station on Festival Plaza.
PLAYWRIGHT DAVID WILLIAMSON CRUISES BACK TO PLAYHOUSE
Fifty years – and two retirements – after he first wrote a work for State Theatre Company to open the Playhouse, Australia’s leading playwright David Williamson has returned to the Adelaide venue with a brand new comedy.
Williamson, now 82, was commissioned to write his drama The Department for the company’s debut season at the Playhouse in 1974.
“This was where theatre was really being done at its best at that time,” he said.
“That was a golden period for Australian theatre and this was at the forefront, so it’s terrific to be back here.”
Williamson was hot off the success of early 1970s plays including The Coming of Stork, The Removalists and Don’s Party, all of which were later made into hit films.
His new play The Puzzle, starring former Packed to the Rafters actor Erik Thomson, began previews on Friday before its world premiere on Tuesday, and runs until October 12.
In the comedy, Thompson plays an uptight father who naively books a holiday to reconnect with his adult daughter on a cruise for “swinging” couples.
“There’s generally a big table with a communal, 1000-piece puzzle,” Williamson said.
“People come from all over the ship and put bits in, and start talking to each other. It’s a good starting point.”
The setting was inspired by cruise holidays Williamson and his wife Kristin have undertaken in recent years.
“I’m a lazy tourist … I hate going through airports and checking out of the hotel after two days,” he said.
The Puzzle is one of three new works by Williamson to premiere around the country this year, despite him having twice announced his “retirement” from scriptwriting in 2005 and again in 2020.
Surgery and advances in medication have helped him overcome the heart problems which led to his temporarily stopping work.
“It is an addiction. When you put those lines on a page … and an audience is responding, that’s the kick. It’s hard to give it up.”
FEAST FESTIVAL TRANSFORMS ITS ACT WITH NEW HUB
Drag superstar Spankie Jackzon and shows by queer comedians Scout Boxall and Frankie McNair are among highlights of November’s Feast Festival program, which was released at SkyCity on Thursday.
More than 900 artists, performers, volunteers and production crew will come together under the LGBTQIA+ festival’s theme of Transformation to produce 82 Feast events from November 9-24.
“We celebrate queer stories because everyone deserves to be seen, heard, and loved,” said Feast chief executive Tish Naughton.
McNair’s show An Intimate Evening with Tabitha Booth follows a veteran diva’s planned comeback after a mystery hiatus and a lot of credit card debt, while Boxall’s stand-up act Get Into It covers everything from lockdown drills to Eurovision.
Winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under season two, Spankie Jackzon will perform her new show Just the Tip at newly renovated cinema The Piccadilly in North Adelaide.
The Piccadilly will become the Feast Hub, hosting more than 20 events from comedy and spoken word to live music and film on November 22-24.
Picnic in the Park will again open the festival on November 9 at a new location in Botanic Park.
Full program and bookings at feast.org.au
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