Waiting For Melissa
Burton Taylor Theatre, Dec. 10 - 14, 2002

Okay, it's new writing and it has a naff title - hardly a safe bet for a good night out, right? Wrong, wrong, wrong! This is truly great stuff, the best new writing I've seen in ages. It's a shame the opening night wasn't better attended but that didn't detract from what was a great performance. Joe (superbly played by James Reilly) waits for the love of his life, Melissa, in a wine bar and gets totally trolleyed. Melissa, he says, is prettier, smarter, funnier than all other girls but a commitment-phobe and always, always late. We follow Joe from pissed to pissed off and back again.

At first he seems a bit of a sad arse really, dressed in a tweed jacket and v-necked sweater, he's hardly what you'd call a funky groover… I wasn't sure I'd turn up for a date with him. However, by the play's end I fancied him like mad and thought Melissa was making a very big mistake indeed. You've got to give it to him, the sad arse has charisma.

The play is a monologue but Joe impersonates a variety of characters: the sloaney slut Molly; the canny pub philosopher, the unruly drunkard Alex and the errant Melissa herself. Reilly is amazing to watch, giving each character a distinct physicality and voice. An excellent, weighty performance.

The play is made up of a marvellous mish-mash of language, descriptions like 'my suffering swain' sitting easily alongside lines like 'Merry Chrismas you mad fucking bitch'. The action is peppered with cheesy easy-listening classics - 'That's Amore', 'It's a Heartache', 'As Time Goes By' etc. which vary the mood and keep the pace upbeat. It is rarely sluggish - always the danger with a one man show.

I didn't expect this to be much cop but I really, really enjoyed myself. Why isn't there more new writing like this? Waiting For Melissa in three words? Wicked, wicked, wicked. Don't miss this one.

Michelle Jordan