Someone's going to get hurt ...
Dead Lines
Written by Kate Gillick
Directed by Robin Laurie
Performed by Stephen Burton, David Joseph, Lisa Small and Phil Sumner
Musicians: Shirley Billing, Rachel Cogan and Irine Vela
At the Pumping Station, Scienceworks Museum, Melbourne, until June 5
Reviewed by Scott Lewington
It's Friday night. You're working night shift in a dirty, dangerous and poorly unionised workplace. All you want to do is finish the job and go fishing for the weekend.
The order comes down from management. You must do someone else's work that you're untrained for, and safety on the job is compromised. Management insists that anyone who doesn't comply with these instructions can pick up their pay and leave.
It's the middle of a recession and you know that if you refuse to comply then your chances of getting another job are limited.
Your union hasn't struggled for you in years and you don't know if you can rely on it to back you if you refuse.
This very topical play, especially in the era of Kennett's individual contracts and Keating's enterprise bargaining, is handled with humour and tension. Superbly set in the pumping station in the middle of industrial Spotswood in Melbourne's inner west, Deadlines is a physically demanding play, with a brilliant use of props. The music is performed by three excellent musicians who tell a story through original ballads.
The actors portray well the way workers cope with humdrum, repetitive and boring work, often alleviating the tedium with stirring and game playing.
The play starts off slowly but gradually builds to a climax. Anyone who thinks unions are irrelevant should see this play. If you don't fight, you lose.