Draft:Watchlist (play)

Watchlist is an Australian play written by Alex Vickery-Howe and published by Currency Press in 2020. The premiere production in Adelaide, South Australia was delayed until 2021 due to the global pandemic, which the play coincidentally foreshadows.

Summary
Set in the present day, Watchlist tells the story of Basil Pepper, a young man with a predilection for painting fantasy figurines and mulling over the meaning of Fred Basset comics, who meets headstrong environmental activist Delia Dengel. Basil is almost immediately smitten with Delia when he meets her at his father's funeral. But Delia is much more than she appears. Unknown to Basil, Delia is willing to do the unthinkable for her to succeed where previous generations have failed. It doesn't take long for Delia to convince Basil to see the world as she does. Chaos ensues.

Original Production

 * Basil Pepper - Gianluca Noble
 * Marie Harbuck - Katie O’Reilly
 * Delia Dengel - Katherine Sortini
 * Roger the Knob - Eddie Morrison
 * Norman Gould - Matt Hawkins
 * Director - Lisa Harper Campbell
 * Producer - Lucy Comb
 * Lighting Designer - Stephen Dean
 * Stage Manager - Clare Miyuki Guerin
 * Set Construction - David Adams

Critical Reception
Critic and academic Murray Bramwell describes the play as a comic thriller that is both engaging and hyperactive. In Bramwell’s analysis, the show is ‘amusing, ambitious, provocative, and a sharp reminder that the changes we...need to make as global citizens will not be easy, even if we agree to them'.

Reviewer Steve Davis calls the play ‘darkly stupendous’. For Davis, it is Delia’s presence that underpins the play, taking the time to praise Katherine Sortini's portrayal of her. Davis notes how easily Sortini as Delia takes the necessary actions to achieve her goals without an ounce of self-consciousness, highlighting an 'absolute comfort in her own skin.'



Journalist Samela Harris draws attention to the quality of Vickery-Howe's writing; making special mention of the wit and the 'diabolical one-liners' throughout the script. She even claims that there is very little to criticise and that each actor 'artfully' defines their given characters.

Journalist Helen Karakulak calls the play 'dark and delightful', praising Katie O'Reilly's portrayal of Basil's mother, Marie. O'Reilly brings sass to the role of Marie with dry line deliveries, but still manages to convey affection for her troubled son as the play unfolds.



Mark Wickett contextualises the work and its reflection of the world, highlighting how easily the 'boy meets girl' narrative goes from comedy to politics and then back again without ever resorting to satire. 'It's a frustrated tale of the state of the world that signals virtue but actions nothing important, waiting for 'some mythical grown-up to take care of it.'