Verdict: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (reviewed Sunday 8 September).
‘The Internet gave you an imaginary friend,’ declares Hollywood actor Griffin Thornby to the stalkerish fan-girl who is weirdly creeping him out in his apartment. She’s an aspiring writer / director who manages to get an assignment to COVID-test Griffin in his hotel room. But Holly, the fan girl, is not just there to get close to her favourite celebrity crush; she’s there to interrogate him about an article exposing his alleged sexual misconduct which threatens to completely derail his career. Her idolisation of him is shattered; she wants needs him to prove ‘he’s not like that’.
With echoes of classic thrillers (Fatal Attraction, Misery et al), Becca Hurd’s script is inspired by her real-life experience of COVID-testing celebrities in hotel rooms, exposing the sordid, sad, morally-ambiguous life that they lead in and out of the spotlight. The character of Griffin is extraordinarily handsome and charming on screen and yet so full of himself, while Holly insists she is ‘not a feminist’ nor a crazy fan-girl. But the thing is, you see, she knows Griffin really really well, she has a connection to him, even though she’s never met him before in real life.
Cast member Ziggy Resnick is always a delight to watch; as Holly her unassuming plainness, aloofness and disdain for Hollywood masks the limerence that she feels for Griffin. Her wry observations and direct bluntness lands with a bang to a receptive audience.
Ryan Panizza as Griffin is appropriately cast as a pumped up pretty-boy with a not so great personality. Griffin is unable to process in the heat of the moment that a woman does not want to have sex with him, because, in his words, ‘every woman usually does.’ Even so, Panizza manages to elicit some sympathy for his character. Griffin’s audition scene with Holly endears him to the audience as she mocks his painful attempt at putting on a southern accent. There is interesting power dynamics as Holly takes the lead in prompting Griffin to look deeper beyond superficial choices, both in acting and in real life.
Director Rachel Chant keeps the pace appropriately awkward right off the bat where we see Thornby enthusiastically masturbating to porn. This awkwardness is tempered by a masterful suspense and restraint, never revealing the cards too soon, which renders the final minutes incredibly shocking, with choreography that is graphic and intense.
No spoilers other than to say it played out almost a little too real; it was excruciatingly unbearable to watch (I had to look away), and after seeing this play, you will never want to eat a peppermint refreshment again! 😱
Probe is playing at Old Fitz Theatre till 14 September. For tickets and showtimes, go to: https://www.oldfitztheatre.com.au/probe
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CREDITS:
THE TEAM – Producing Company: Sour Cherry Productions; Playwright: Becca Hurd; Director: Rachel Chant; Producer: Sarah Carroll; Stage Manager: Alexis Worthing; Lighting Designer: Emma Van Veen; Set/Costume Designer: Paris Bell; Sound Designer: Alexander Lee-Rekers; Fight/Intimacy Coordinator: Nigel Poulton; Assistant Director: Jessica-Belle Keogh; Dramaturg: Chris Edwards; Cast (of 2): Ziggy Resnick (as Holly) & Ryan Panizza (as Griffin)
Images: Phil Erbacher @fleshskinhairblood