My Fair Lawyer is a comedy wrote by a lawyer that doesn’t really do much about working in a law firm. If you go into My Fair Lawyer expecting Ally McBeal, then you will be disappointed, but if you go into My Fair Lawyer for a comedy with an Aussie flavour sprinkled with some legal flare, then it is your cup of tea.
The premise is quite simple and straightforward, a comedy of errors and coincidences that unfolded over a short period of time when poor Henry just want to read his paper and redefine romance with his wife Margaret without much “nuisance”. Margaret on the other hand wants the fire and passion back seeking help from the new shrink in town, Dr Punjab, for help. While at the same time, the mysteriously outgoing Chezza shows up claiming to be the illegitimate daughter of Henry in a black out drunk session prior to his wedding 25 years ago. With so much scheming going on, it is unlikely that Henry would find his peace.
As part of the double programming currently at the Bondi Pavillion, My Fair Lawyer shares the same stage with Uked! This makes the staging a bit tricky, but I personally think that it was managed perfectly. The overall set up was similar to Uked!, but now we got a painting replacing the once hollow area for the stage and simple furniture now occupy stage left and stage centre. Overall, it works well as the function of each area was distinguished through simple lighting. When it comes to smaller productions, the simpler is always the better.
All four characters, Henry (Martin Portus), Margaret Crowley (Deirdre Campbell), Cheryl (Felicity Cribb) and Rahmish J Punjab (Gantanter Singh Gill) were played well by the respective actors. They have sufficient chemistry to bring the script to live, yet at times I felt something amiss. While the characters were sharply written, there were occasions that I felt certain interactions were out of place. The particular bit that I felt taken me out of the experience was when Cheryl first met Henry. It could be the staging in a way that she just showed up in Henry’s living room. But Margaret was not home, so how did she get in? I couldn't suspend my believe and that distracted me even further when a random girl just showed up inside an older man’s home claiming to be his daughter from a drunken one night stand. The dialogues were funny (I really like the Cessnock bit) but I just couldn't get myself into it because of this abrupt bit in staging.
The script was witty and fast paced and the tempo of performance was managed properly without dead air or seeming rushing through dialogues. The dialogues were sharp and I think it fits the “legal setting” of the play. There were parts that I found them really funny especially when it comes to the interactions between Henry and Margaret, when Margaret was so determined to reignite the old flame. Despite Henry and Cheryl were the ones with law degrees, I personally feel that Margaret is the smart one. Dr Punjab, the new shrink in town took the dynamics off the immediate family setting and provided a ‘neutral’ view about the situation. There were some very culturally specific jokes in his breaking the fourth wall moments, but since it is delivered by an actor of its own racial group, that might not come by as too offensive, at least for me. But if it did reflect his culture without turning it into a caricature of that culture from the eyes of that cultural group, then it is a job well done.
My Fair Lawyer is not a very long piece, so it does not demand a long attention span, and with so much action among the lines themselves, I think it achieved what it aims to achieve. Apart from the bits that I raised, I think it is a good evening out for something light and easy.
