inky

Theatreworks, St Kilda, 2008 

Rinne Groff’s Inky tells the story of Barbara and Greg’s crumbling, “love-starved” relationship and the only thing capable of making their world turn: Money. Set in 1980’s Manhattan, Inky is a noir comedy in which the façade of flawless and affluent domesticity unwinds slowly, but stings like a bee. 
Presented by Complete Works Theatre Company.

Director Jacquelin Low
With Roderick Cairns, Eleanor Howlett and Kellie Jones
Set Designer Emily Collett
Sound Design and Live Performance Wintership Quartet

REVIEWS

‘Inky is divided into fifteen scenes (the number of rounds in a championship boxing match) which are signified by the ringing of a boxing fight bell at the commencement of each new scene. Emily Collett’s set design, which incorporates boxing ring ropes wrapped around the set, pertinently delineate the vision of the play. Director Jacqueline Low makes clever use of the sleek minimalist aesthetics afforded by the set, entwining the movement of the actors with the play’s wider commentary about familial struggles. During particularly wounding exchanges, the actors exit the stage by lifting the ropes, triggering the imagery of a boxing match and evoking the extended metaphor of Inky which likens family life, family relationships and domesticity to a boxing match.’
Melita Pereira, Australian Stage

‘The set, lighting, and sound were wonderful, mainly because someone remembered something that is too often forgotten in theatre - that design elements are there not just to look good, but also to add meaning to some main theme of the play.  The set serves a dual purpose in setting up the play... There's something calming in a set that works so simply, that so easily passes on the metaphor and gives the director opportunities to refer to it without becoming a distraction.'
Laura Smith, Arts Hub