I hate the police – I always have. For some reason, whenever I see a cop, I’m overcome with an uncontrollable feeling of guilt and anxiety – I have visions of me fleeing flashing lights, the taser and the inevitable knee in the neck.

For the record, I’ve actually never committed a crime, and I guess I would hate the police even more if I was arrested leaving work, interrogated for hours on end and was of Middle Eastern appearance.

Based on true events, Safety Switch, by Rowan Freeman, takes us into the lives of two actors (Freeman and Mansoor Noor) who are arrested leaving work one night by two police officers (Warwick Allsopp and Fiona Pepper) and accused of planning a terrorist act.

In an intensely quiet and bleak stage space – reminiscent of the cold, dreaded police station questioning rooms – the actors are intensely interviewed, threatened, and in a sense manipulated by the police in regards to the imitation weapons they had been carrying to their car following a rehearsal. As the story develops, their seemingly innocent actions are painted as well-executed terror plot that had sought to jeopardise the safety and security of Australians.

With solid performances from all performers, as well as sharp and witty dialogue, Safety Switch cleverly questions what is often perceived as the truth versus what you want to believe really happened.

Under Eden Falk’s tight direction, this is a thrilling show that leaves you wondering just how big a part ethnicity and paranoia can play in the question of innocence. Given the current hysteria surrounding terrorism, exaggerated even more so by the Australian media, Safety Switch is a poignant reminder that even the most innocent-seeming actions can end with you phoning your lawyer and staring through a set of bars, the keys long thrown away.

4/5 stars

Safety Switch is playing at the Old Fitzroy Theatre until Sunday May 24.

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