It’s a Tinder-style nightmare. She’s late. He’s pathologically punctual. She loves colour. He can name shades on the spectrum of beige. She has a master’s degree in gender studies. He thinks Jordan Peterson is an important philosopher. Within minutes she’s setting up her “emergency exit”. But just as she’s heading for the door, an unspecified catastrophe throws the city into a “shelter in place” lockdown. Disastrous first impressions become artillery in a prolonged battle of bickering as these polar opposites are forced to cohabit during the longest first date in history.
The Visitor (Chaya Ocampo) is trapped in the immaculate high-rise apartment of the Resident (Charles Wu) – there’s no internet, no phone, no streaming and no end in sight. Every conversation devolves into a battle, with the whole calamity witnessed by a rock band (Sam Lau, James Bannah Jr and Jackson Mack) who are similarly trapped in the apartment next door.
In a last-ditch effort to foster some connection, the Visitor fishes a post-it-note-festooned Vogue magazine from her tote bag. Inside is a questionnaire developed by psychologists – 36 intense questions designed to fast-track intimacy between strangers.
As the days wear on and the value of clean underwear escalates, this odd couple work through the list of questions, slowly peeling away the masks they’ve been desperately holding up to reveal the vulnerable people beneath.
Charles Wu and Chaya Ocampo play a pair trapped on a first date with no end in sight. Photo: Matt Byrne
Inspired by a true story from the recent COVID-19 pandemic and its prolonged lockdowns, this is a clever and hilarious emotional rollercoaster of unlikely love that uses both song and script to create a genuinely satisfying expression of the musical form. Interspersed with razor-sharp dialogue, the musical numbers use the list of questions to delve into character, revealing traumas, and with each shared episode of history the couple inches towards empathy.
Ocampo and Wu are magnetic, their embodiment of this politically mismatched couple creating a wonderfully immersive experience. Whether in song or dialogue, their chemistry maintains perfect pitch.
The rock band is a delight. Overlooking the scene from the windows of the apartment next door, the three-piece group functions as a musical chorus. With their witty lyrics revealing them to be completely conscious of their role “trapped in someone else’s musical”, the musicians provide brilliant accompaniment along with witty social comment on the relationship playing out before their eyes.
A three-piece rock band functions as a musical chorus in The Questions. Photo: Matt Byrne
Jeremy Allen’s set design deserves particular mention, the apartment’s compact lounge and kitchenette wonderfully containing the action while ramping up the atmosphere of social claustrophobia. Gavin Norris’s clever lighting design provides the illusion of set changes, and the cityscape with its delightful back-lighting delivers a touch of urban beauty.
Cleverly avoiding any geographic or temporal specificity, the diverse cast and lack of scripted references give the impression this couple could be trapped in any city in the world, with the audience’s only clue to the timeframe being a fleeting refence to recent lockdowns. This cunningly focusses all attention on the central premise – the transformational power of trust and importance of connection and intimacy in a time when trolling and polarisation are rife.
Director Mitchell Butel displays his exceptional prowess across the worlds of theatre and music in bringing this truly delightful musical to the stage. It speaks volumes that this reviewer is not a habitual fan of either the rom-com or musical genres, yet found herself utterly entranced by this witty and insightful production. While the performances are luminous, it was ultimately the wit of the lyrics, dialogue and powerful message about the potential for connection regardless of ideological difference that left me dazzled.
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Badham and Wise have looked beyond the trauma of the pandemic and the epidemic of social disconnection to focus instead on hope and the enduring human need for connection and intimacy. This production is quite simply a tonic – one that will delight not only lovers of the rom-com and musical forms, but anyone with a heart.
State Theatre Company South Australia is presenting The Questions at the Space Theatre until August 17.
Read InReview’s recent interview with Van Badham here.
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