Review: CHUTNEY, The Bunker

Gregg and Claire live sheltered, boring, suburban lives. She has a high-end job she hates; he is a teacher. They follow the rules and are everything one would expect from an established couple. Except one day they find out that they share an overwhelming desire to kill animals.

The marriage is reinvigorated by their blood-lust and, as they explore this new element in their relationship, the twosome transforms. Written by Reece Connolly and directed by Georgie Straight, Chutney takes its audience on a ride to look on the wild side of suburbia, adding plenty of paranoia, sexiness, and blood to this prim and pristine world.

The two-hander stars Will Adolphy and Isabel Della-Porta as the not-too-loving couple who's overseen by Bertha (Rosalind McAndrew), a singing fish who introduces their story and acts as narrator throughout. They embody up-and-coming power in a lavish set by Jasmine Swan.

No expenses have been spared to dress the stage. The action takes place in a swanky kitchen that's a direct reflection of the characters, with sleek furniture to place the pair against their upper-middle class background. Adolphy and Della-Porta are delightful psychopaths. They thrive on each other's presence with palpable and unflappable chemistry.

"I imagine this is what other couples feel while playing squash" Gregg says while they're hunting for cats in the middle of the night. As their marital issues seem to be easily solved with their peculiar hobby, the actors are elastic bands, uniting and pulling apart during the hilarious rollercoaster.

Connolly's script has a life of its own: the playwright toys with pitch-black humour, hiding social critique and psychological exploration under layers of snickering one-liners and dynamic dialogue. To top the already rich feast, Matt Cater curates the lighting design, which goes from nightmarish to pure fun when it focuses on Bertha.

As directed by Straight, Chutney is a perfectly paced black comedy with clockwork cast.

Chutney runs at The Bunker until 1 December.

Photo credit: Rah Petherbridge

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