From the fertile imagination of Working Dog founder Tom Gleisner and composer Katie Weston, Bloom arrives in Sydney following a very successful extended season for Melbourne Theatre Company.
Set in a nursing home built in the 1950s or 60s, replete with worn timber handrails, varnished ply doors, and a sickly blue-green colour scheme, the grimy walls of Bloom’s Pine Grove Aged Care Centre ooze institutionalised neglect. It’s a well-observed, realistic set from designer Dann Barber, with complementary lighting from Amelia Lever-Davidson.
Into the nursing home rides slacker university student Finn (the multi-talented Slone Sudiro) taking up a free ‘board for providing care assistance’ job offer. Instigated by cost-slashing manager Mrs Macintyre (Christie Whelan Browne), the offer requires absolutely no qualifications, much to the chagrin of dedicated Ruby (Vidya Makan), who actually is tertiary qualified.
Self-centred and unmotivated, Finn bonds with a reluctant new resident, the spirited and defiant Rose (Evelyn Krape). The status quo is threatened. We know exactly where this is headed, and meeting that expectation is part of Bloom’s charm. The show, after all, is a feel-good exercise, though not without some pertinent observations on the state of many elderly people today.
The cast is largely unchanged, with this Sydney Theatre Company co-production including John Waters as Doug and Whelan Browne. Perhaps surprisingly, then, the show takes a little while to find its groove. Maybe this is due to the necessity of introducing characters who are clearly delineated, easily recognisable archetypes. Costume designer Charlotte Lane has helpfully clothed them accordingly: grieving Doug in a tucked-in flanny and sensible trousers and Mrs Macintyre in a smart two-piece set.
Thwarted hopes and a pervading sense of stagnation afflict the young and old alike. ‘How did we end up here?’ seems to be the unifying incomprehension. Despite the horrors that COVID and a subsequent Royal Commission revealed of the state of nursing homes, the production doesn’t dwell on too many negatives. Mrs Macintyre’s increasingly zealous cost-cutting is played for laughs. Even the sadness of inevitable death is smoothed over in a cheesy finale.
If some of the early one-liners have all the bite of a Bill Shorten zinger, Gleisner’s book sharpens its pencil as the show warms up. His lyrics, though, lack a certain poetic ingenuity. Katie Weston delivers a good tune in The Best is Yet to Be, even if, like many modern musicals, the majority are not greatly memorable.
Whelan Browne plays Mrs Macintyre for all its worth, delivering some of the production’s best lines. While threatening at any moment to fall into Dick Dastardly caricature, she delivers a consistently funny, physical performance. Most of the other good lines go to Waters and Krape, delivered sardonically with perfect timing.
The company moves like a well-oiled machine. Andrew Hallsworth’s choreography uses the stage well and touches base with classic musical moves that are fun to watch and performed enthusiastically. I particularly enjoyed the stagecraft as love stories intertwine during All This Wasted Time.
A musical employing music as the connective tissue that binds the residents and staff is a conceit that works successfully. The show really comes alive with the full company singing on stage. Makan has a strong melodious voice that works well against Christina O’Neill’s (playing Gloria) sweet clarity. And the honey-dripped bass of Eddie Muliaumaseali’i (in multiple roles) – more please! But can we have a little less amplification of the rear-stage band that at times overwhelmed some pretty strong singing.
Bloom is a show that doesn’t interrogate too deeply. The satire is muted, with far more self-awareness than in, for example, The Castle. The focus is on an exploration of the possibilities of community that bridges generational divides. It celebrates dignity and optimism in the face of institutional oppression. And it’s fun. I can see this becoming a staple of regional and community theatre. If you want an undemanding night out in the company of some theatre pros, Bloom is for you.
Bloom runs until 11 May at Roslyn Packer Theatre, 22 Hickson Road Walsh Bay NSW 2000.
Tickets: https://www.sydneytheatre.com.au/whats-on/productions/2025/bloom
Website: https://www.sydneytheatre.com.au/
Socials: https://www.instagram.com/sydneytheatreco/
Photo credits: Daniel Boud
Leave a Reply