Review: Mr Bailey’s Minder, Ensemble Theatre
Ensemble Theatre, 2 August, 2023.
Reviewed by Paul Neeson (Arts Wednesday)
Ensemble Theatre (photo Paul Neeson)
It’s been quite a few years since I’ve been to the Ensemble Theatre in Kirribilli, and I’d forgotten what an idyllic location it is for a night out, with the lively bar overlooking the still dark waters of Careening Cove. It is opening night of Mr. Bailey’s Minder, by Debra Oswald, and there is an air of excitement and expectation in the buzzing crowd.
Trust and abuse are the two major themes that run through this drama. I was going to say tragedy, but some light glimmered at the end of the otherwise dark tunnel.
Claudia Ware & John Gaden Mr Baileys Minder Ensemble (photo Prudence Upton)
It was the chemistry between the two leads, Leo (theatre legend, John Gaden) and Therese (rising star, Claudia Ware), that is at the heart of the play and that leads us through the sometimes joyful, but more often harrowing narrative. Both characters had made bad choices in their lives and each in their own way are seeking some kind of redemption.
Therese is fresh out of prison and has few options left to her when she is offered the job of live-in carer for Leo, the highly regarded artist whose alcohol abuse has estranged his family and friends. Thereses’s confidence and ability to trust has been shattered by her experience, but somehow they both need each other more than they realise.
Margo (Rachel Gordon), Leo’s daughter is negotiating the business of his dying days as best she can. Having buried her emotions to cope with the past and ongoing abuse he dishes out to her, she is still trying to keep him in his ramshackle home that is decaying at the same rate as his failing body.
Albert Mwangi Mr Baileys Minder Ensemble (photo Prudence Upton)
And Karl (Albert Mwangi) is the handyman hired to keep the home functioning as best (and cheaply) as he can. Both Karl and Leo can see the underlying good and beauty of Therese, despite her inability to appreciate their vision. While obvious to the audience and Leo, Therese remains ignorant of Karl’s infatuation with her. It is almost too late when he forces her to confront his love for her and allow herself to realise and accept her emotions.
Set in a tiny decrepit room, it is a small and intimate script that speaks of wider and universal themes that we can all relate to: coping with a dying parent’s last days, managing severed family ties, the destructive power of addiction, finding the inner beauty where by rights it should not exist and the shifting sands of power and control that too many times are decided by pragmatism at the expense of emotion and loyalty.
Claudia Ware, Rachel Gordon & John Gaden Mr Baileys Minder Ensemble (photo Prudence Upton)
Debra Oswald manages these themes with a deft pen, and the transitions of the characters through the play are compelling. It is no coincidence that the ghost of Brett Whitely drifts into the script as a symbol of the artist who follows his artistic vision at the expense of those around him, as if creating great art can excuse bad behaviour. But is the price too high?
Director Damien Ryan manipulates all these elements brilliantly, creating a challenging and rewarding theatre experience that was fully appreciated by the audience as witnessed by a long standing ovation.
You can listen to a recent interview with Claudia Ware here.