Written by Jake Goodall
What happens when you cross Andrew Tate with Gloria Steinem? Well, a piece of theatre that is wickedly funny produced in the heart of Brisbane's CBD. Banging Denmark is a hilarious comedy that takes us on a journey of self-exploration, sexuality, and what it means to be a huge pile of dicks!
Aussie Jake Newhouse is a management consultant with a side hack as a toxic male podcaster. He also fancies himself as a pick-up artist. His latest crush, a brilliant and beautiful Danish librarian named Anne, isn’t buying his usual lines, so he enlists the help of academic Ish Madigan to give him tips on flirtation. He’s offering to pay – a lot – and she’s broke enough to accept, despite their fraught relationship. But for Ish, the project feels like a betrayal of the sisterhood! How Ish, Jake, their friends, and a stranger navigate the complexities of love, sex, and dating in the 21st century lies at the heart of this hilarious satire.
Directed by Heidi Gledhill this production is in good hands, Gledhill is clearly a talented director whose skill and experience shine through in this production. Each of the actors has clearly worked with Gledhill immensely to understand their motives, thoughts, and morals and have created beautifully complex characters along the way. The blocking at most times was natural and well thought out, the production could have benefitted from some more planted blocking as most of the actors didn't stop moving throughout the entire show.
Helena Trupp as Costume and Set Designer was calculated. Costumes were simple and contemporary showcasing each character brilliantly, however, the set design is where Trupp really shone. The use of a multilayered set acted almost like a gaming pitch for these characters to fight and deceive upon, the traverse staging of the production was an added element to add to the heightened emotion throughout the play.
Lighting by Noah Milne and Sound by Tommi Civili was commendable. The use of technical elements in this show was minimal, to ensure the story and the characters were the main focal point. However, Milne and Civili used very intricate techniques to ensure our focus was kept upon the story, such as highlighting areas of the large stage to show the audience where to look next and some impeccable timing during door knocking that was extremely realistic.
Rijen Laine played the dispicable Jake/Guyu de Wit. This Andrew Tate like character the audience loved to loathe, and Laine brought absolutely everything to this role. As a stand-out in this production Laine played this pick up artist with all the toxic masculinity they could muster, towards the end we saw just how phenomonal Laine is as a performer when they switched their character's mindset from toxic man to loving person, this switch was very impressive from Laine and was a highlight in the proudction.
Tegan Braithwaite as Ishtar was hilarious, Braithwaite is a extremely talented and funny performer and this role was very well suited for them. Braithwaite's energy from top to bottom of this show exceeded all the levels, having that much energy and pace from one person for over two hours was an amazing feat and should be highly commendable, for a performer who rarely leaves the stage Braithwaite brought us some of the biggest laughs and 'aw' moments in the show!
Amelia Slatter as Anne was hard hitting and ruthless, Anne was another highlight character for this reviewer and Slatter was the sterotypical European. Hard-hitting, emotionless and stark, Slatter brought their A game to every scene providing us with laughs and insights into the European sexual desire. Dudley Powell as Toby was the character that everone was routing for, loveable and kind. Powell brought a sense of calmness to the production and was beautiful in their portrayal.
The standout performer in this production was Janaki Gerard as Denyse. This reviewer has had the chance to see Gerard in a number of productions thorughout Brisbane and is a continual delight to see on stage. Gerard is an incredible performer with skill beyond measure. The character of Denyse was layered, loveable and down right hilarious. Gerard played this character with ease, brought the energy from the start and was an audience favorite.
Overall Banging Denmark is a hilarious comedy showcasing love and sex withing the digital age and how was as young people must navigate the complexities of it. This witty production should be commended for its innovative use of staging and incredible performers.
Banging Denmark runs until the 23rd of March 2024 and is NOT one you want to miss out one! Book your tickets now!
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