Actors Gary McDonald and Henri Szeps (of acclaimed Mother and Son fame) are consummate in their craft. I have never seen either in a play before but, should the possibility arise again, I will not miss the opportunity in future. Both immediately own their respective, finely drawn characters and transport the audience flawlessly. It was a privilege and an absolute joy to watch such artists at work.

Halpern (Szeps) has just lost his wife Flo. While mourning at the gravesite he meets Johnson (McDonald), who is mourning the loss of his friend, Florence. They are, of course, the same woman and Halpern is infuriated to discover that his wife had a clandestine male friend through their fifty-year marriage. Johnson is, eventually, able to convince him that the relationship was entirely platonic, though he harboured a very deep, unrequited romantic love for her. Through these two men, Florence was able to explore different facets of her character, each man only privy to a certain side thus providing freedom from the other. But there is a third side discovered, of which neither man was aware. For a play with two male characters, Florence has quite a lot of pull in absentia.

While the primary kudos does belong to the actors, I must also pay homage to the writer, Lionel Goldstein. For a man who spent the first half of his life in fairly menial employment, he demonstrates a practiced flair for creativity and insight into the human psyche. It’s a shame that his writing took so long to take off. When the lights of the theatre first dimmed and I was confronted by Halpern weeping over his wife’s grave, I was worried that the whole piece might be overwhelmingly heavy. Sad it is, but Halpern and Johnson is predominantly a comedy. The juxtaposition in tone also mirrors the dissimilarity of the two well-constructed characters in a very ‘Odd Couple’ fashion, but with ingenious subtlety rather than crudeness.

I also take my hat off to director, Mark Kilmurray, whose acting and direction I have found variable this year, but who has certainly kicked a goal with this one. The perfect timing of the line delivery, the resonant intonations and the superb movement throughout the play are a credit to his leadership.

However, beautiful lines can be written, excellent direction can be given, but ultimately the piece of magic enfolded in the actors’ execution is, for me, what good theatre is all about. The sneaky female empowerment agenda is just icing on the cake.

Halpern and Johnson plays at the Ensemble Theatre, Kirribilli until 19 January 2008.

Photograph by Steve Lunam

The Good: The script, the acting, the direction, the sets, the costumes, the didactic ideologies, the feminism, the characterisation . . . I could go on all night.

The Bad: For the first time, I refuse to taint the splendor of this work by filling in this section.

The Vibe: A very clever, funny and tremendously well-acted play that I will be recommending long after the season is over. I would actually love to talk to someone who didn’t like it.