Summer Street - An Entertaining Aussie Adventure

I have to confess, I’ve never watched an Australian soap opera in my life. Even my knowledge of English soap operas is extremely limited. So when i was invited to see Summer Street at the Waterloo East Theatre, I was intrigued but also terrified that I wouldn’t understand anything at all. However, I was relieved to discover that my non-existent understanding of the genre didn’t affect my viewing experience at all!

Summer Street is the new musical by () which focuses on four former soap stars reuniting to celebrate the anniversary of the fictional soap, Summer Street. Complete with original songs and plenty of laughs, Summer Street is an unpredictable farce.

The set seemed very appropriate. It was rather cluttered with lots of props and objects relevant to particular scenes or characters from the TV show. it would have been nice to have a bit more of a scenery change, especially during the second act when the characters venture outside of their neighbourhood, however this can easily be overlooked as the clarity from the book as well as the actors performances made it very clear where each scene was taking place.

The multiroling in this show it’s one of its strongest gags. The diverse range of characters that all of the actors were playing were thoroughly entertaining and really helped to lift the atmosphere in the brief moments where some scenes started to drag a little.

The songs within this show suit the genre and humour of the piece very well. All were played with tracks, which was most likely unavoidable given the restrictions of the limited playing space. However, I would be very interested to hear how different a live band would have made the music sound. Some moments felt a little “child-like” in their writing and style, which might have been an intentional choice, however it didnt sit completely right with me. However songs like Chains Around My Heart and Dear Mr Drew really won me over and showed the passion and humour that went into this piece.

Some elements of the story did start to get a little tedious as the show progressed. For example the “Fly Away” scene, whilst entertaining initially, felt like it carried on for a few minutes too long and broke up the fluidity of the piece. These moments weren’t frequent, however when they occurred, they lost the audiences focus and therefore it was a bit of a fight to regain that attention in the next scene.

Despite this, Summer Street did pleasantly surprise me with its ending. The twist at the end made a lot of sense to the progression of the story and was an excellent addition to the narrative on TV and how it’s role has changed in recent years. This ending was very well executed and allowed me to leave the show with a much more positive mindset than I would have otherwise.

Overall, Summer Street is an entertaining night out for soap fans and soap newbies alike. The charm and wit of the performers make this show entirely worthwhile - regardless of your Neighbours knowledge.

5 Star Rating: **** 4 Stars

To See or Not To See? To See