Stuck. Stuck like a jar of olives you can’t open. Stuck in place. Stuck in your job. Stuck in your role. As a worker. As a woman. Stuck in a small town. Stuck dreaming of an escape. Out of here. The open road. The wild blue.
Directed by Susie Dee, Stuck is a one-act play first written in 2020 and nurtured and developed through La Mama’s Explorations and Residency programs. Stuck is also one of this year’s best plays – with writing as sharp as a meat slicer, and performances as polished as a stainless steel bench.
When you enter the space, It’s two of these gleaming metal benches that strike you first. With its geometric floor and heavy translucent curtain, Lindy Macauley’s set design feels like something David Lynch might lay out, except instead of the Twin Peaks’ Black Lodge we’re somewhere far more horrific: the deli counter at the local supermarket.
Young One (Eva Seymour) has just started her new job behind the deli counter. Old One (Caroline Lee) takes her under her wing, so to speak. With her guidance, perhaps this good for nothing will become good for something, however Young One doesn’t intend on staying that long.
She has plans, dreams of becoming a flight attendant, of becoming anything that would take her away. In the meantime, the pastrami still needs sliced, the fridges still aren’t fixed, and as time goes on it only gets harder for Young One and Old One to choose what they want for their life.
Megan Twycross’ script is like a knife. The language is sharp, distilled, almost futuristic, like A Clockwork Orange’s Nadsat, yet not so heightened as to keep you at a distance.
The sound of those words grip you from the outset, especially when layered with Ian Moorhead’s sound – a distorted thrum that mixes the mechanical persistence of a faulty commercial fridge with the cold abrasion of a fluorescent tube.
That fluorescent reality is beautifully realised by Amelia Lever-Davidson and Spencer Herd’s lighting, especially behind the PVC curtain, flickering and flaring in a bleak, cyclical way.
Caroline Lee plays the cynical Old One, little faith from the get-go with Young One’s ability, and sceptical to say the least at her aspirations. Old One has wisdom to pass on, whether Young One wants to hear it or not. It’s marvellous work from Caroline as her character moves from blunt to caustic to unexpectedly vulnerable.
Eva Seymour plays a hopeful Young One, refusing to get stuck behind the deli counter for the rest of her life, yearning for more than others expect of her. What’s wonderful about Eva’s performance is how honest it feels, including her use of silence and how she holds her body, especially towards the end.
Stuck is exceptional theatre, and you’ll be hard pressed to find better on a cool autumn night.
STUCK
La Mama HQ, 2025 Faraday Street, Carlton
Performance: Thursday 7 May 2026
Season continues to 24 May 2026
Information and Bookings: www.lamama.com.au
Images: Caroline Lee and Eva Seymour in STUCK – photo by Darren Gill | Eva Seymour in STUCK – photo by Darren Gill | Eva Seymour and Caroline Lee in STUCK – photo by Darren Gill
Review: June Collins