Given the statistics around intimate partner violence in Australia, I felt a creeping sense of dread that Five Properties Of Chainmale would paint the male psyche in a self-pitying light. That’s not to say there aren’t cultural issues around masculinity worth addressing – there certainly are. But whether this play delivers enough punch remains unsure.
Presented by Arts Radar and Griffin Independent, Nicholas Hope’s play is a self-deprecating take on the modern man. By and large, it deals with entitlement. Three actors (Alan Lovell, Dominic McDonald and Jeremy Waters) often assume the same character, bumbling through an art show in Oslo, a seedy London hotel room, a cafe in Adelaide, the streets of Sydney and a sexual assault hearing. It’s a hefty handful of scenarios to cover in just 70 minutes.
As the only female actor, Briony Williams is great. We first see her as an unfulfilled lover, lingerie-clad and irritable. She appears in various guises – always duped, or deceptive, or serving a male counterpart. The men don’t question the cultural origins of their attitudes. Existing within the bubble of blind privilege, all three of them are continually self-obsessed and self-reinforcing. That said, it’s not as heavy-handed as you might expect; irony tends to be the driving force throughout. And generally speaking, the play is entertaining and thought-provoking.
Five Properties Of Chainmale feels like a loose raft of ideas, a montage of experiences. The cast commits to this type of rhythm, holding together the integrity of each scene. However, it feels like the net has been cast too wide to afford many memorable moments. Some thematic links are perhaps buried under the flow between characters and across time zones. Consequently, the play doesn’t cut into many hard truths or compelling insights.
3/5 stars
Five Properties Of Chainmale is playing at SBW Stables Theatre until Saturday May 9.
