Did you mean to fall like that?

New Theatre KXT Sydney, January 2025

The review

“Did you mean to fall like that?”@kxt_bakehouse is a home of several generous programs, packed with free play readings - work in progress, all free to watch.“Did you mean to fall like that?” was presented this week as a part of the bAKEHOUSE Residency Program as part of KXT Summer.

The project was developed by Stephanie Martin.

A long white table with two large mugs (feels straight away like a corporate meeting room) in a black space of the stage and wall, several black microphones on and around, a couple of chairs, and a couple of cubes - to sit or stay on them, hardly noticeable at first. The sound effects are set up right there, in the corner of the stage, by Patrick Kennedy. The next is pure emotions. That day was a heavy one by far for a while, and - a rare thing for me - I needed the theatre as a cure. And I’ve got it! The several weeks of life after a breakdown, broken in snapshots (those spots with microphones are markers of locations) of chats, meetings, dates, lonely reflections, were narrated with sadness, of course, from the main character, Charlie. But at the same time, it was full of warmth. It is hope, an emerging friendship, a connection, maybe love. While Charlie is falling apart, his reading of the dialogue is funny and sparkly. Changing voices, tone, and facial expressions was fun to follow. The universe is kind to him. It is not a sweet sugar-overloaded story; it is gentle and humorous (those comments about HR and mental health support programs for employers were priceless! If our HR department offered me that program on that day, I would laugh in the same way) and comforting. It is also full of smart and precise snaps of life scenes - small talk with an ex, when dying for a real conversation; drunken night in the club; waiting for a return message but seeing only that a person went offline after a moment after reading the text. Once the show is polished, one shall see it. To witness friendship and love being born in a (pardon the cliche!) severely unbalanced world must be compulsory.

Creative team

Stephanie Martin @steph_martin_

Luke Visentin @luke_visentin 

Director and designer Patrick Kennedy @patrickkennedytheatremachine.

Cast

Luke Visentin