The University Dramatic Society, based at UWA, have served up a brilliant little play for the smorgasbord that is FRINGE WORLD 2022.

Written by Esha Jessy and directed by Esha Jessy and Atira Shack, the action follows three mates, Elsie (Maxi Ford), Ted (Ethan Gosatti) and Ida (Jade Woodhouse), as they try to work out what to do with their lives having just graduated from Uni.

Their first step, as proposed by Elsie, is to head down south for the summer and, with little money available, try to find somewhere that they can all work together. They secure jobs waiting tables at the Sandy Feet Brewery.

Against this backdrop, the three protagonists begin to discover things about themselves and a little bit about the world. Romance, or the prospect of it, is never far away and surfaces at the late night/early morning rave on the beach when there are some revelations resulting in a bit of shock, anger and maudlin. Next morning back at work there’s the opportunity for some reconciliation.

The script is funny and poignant and the characters nicely observed and convincingly inhabited by the three leads. The supporting roles are also well drawn and acted. Katherine Hooker as Sage, the young but worldly (even though she confesses to being from Adelaide) manager at the brewery, Patrick Eastough as Andie, the slightly gormless would-be surfer dude with his boogie board, and Grace Armstrong who plays a number of roles including Casey, that erstwhile acquaintance from high school who they all would cross the street to avoid but who nevertheless regularly seems to pop up to haunt them.

There are some nice set-pieces with the waitperson situations and it was refreshing that the only ‘gaming’ depicted was a game of ‘odds on’ enacted at the beach.

The full house in the Briefing Room at the Girls School lapped it up, at times even laughing in anticipation of the words being spoken.

I highly recommend getting along to see this play and travelling with these characters as they navigate some of the challenges and opportunities that arise at this pivotal stage of their lives.