K v e t c h

Anxiety, angst, paranoia, self-doubt.

These modern-day buzz words make Steven Berkoff’s comedy masterpiece, KVETCH, just as relevant today as it was when it was first performed in 1986.

KVETCH is a play centred on that increasingly popular dilemma we call, A.N.X.I.E.T.Y. Those crippling, dreary thoughts that nag you, suck your confidence, keep you awake at night. You want to tell your boss/friend/wife/dog/car, what you REALLY think….. but CAN’T.

You want to stand up and scream, LISTEN TO ME, LISTEN TO ME !

But…… you can’t.

Well, rejoice because in Kvetch, the characters let rip and you will hear those private thoughts, really, no one should hear… or even think and it’s funny… very funny.

Sixteen years ago Ron Banks, theatre critic for The West Australian, reviewed WTC’s production of Steven Berkoff’s, KVETCH and proclaimed it the Comedy of the Year. He went on to say, “This searing comedy of personal angst was brutally frank and performed with exquisite touch by a company of actors, unsubsidised and unable to afford anything but the basic props.”

Well, sixteen years later, in October 2022 this same group of accomplished actors will reprise Berkoff’s KVETCH, firstly at the Blue Room and then at The Rechabites Hall in a performance, enriched by more than a decade of new person anxieties that will make even the most anxious in the audience feel some hope of optimism.

KVETCH is a masterpiece. Every possible urban nightmare that will never happen happens to these 5 sad characters as soon as the lights go up and only subside when the lights go down. There is no interval, no break. We suggest 5 minutes of deep breathing with the lights out before you leave.

The cast is 16 years older but each actor resumes the same role. The first read through after 16 years sent a shiver through my spine. You can’t stop watching them; Do I cry? Do I laugh? Hey, they worry about the same things I worry about, fuck, how do they live like that? Is that me on stage??

KVETCH is Berkoff at his pinnacle. Razor sharp, pinpointed and cruel.

Of course the play has adult themes, strong language and sexual references but these are the last things you need to worry about as you take your seat wishing you had bought another glass of wine.

CAST - Summer Williams, Peter Clark, Matt Penny, Michael Rae, Helen Munt

Director - Bryce Manning