There is something eternally mesmerising about watching a melancholy Paul Capsis eat chicken from a bag as Victoria Falconer shreds the silence with haunting lullaby on the violin. Chaotic, emotive, wild and tense, House of Rot grips the audience with the intensity of chipped nails so brittle they will break and a fury that will never let go.
House of Rot is a true genre defining provocation, not just to the art form of performance but to the bone crushing depths of loneliness, loss and a future without hope. Ever so loosely based on the documentary Grey Gardens, two figures of a past long forgotten stalk the stage with malice, sorrow and a force of will that just might destroy each other, and the audience in the process.
Dino Dimitriadis and Victoria Falconer have created something truly remarkable – not quite a cabaret, might be theatre, definitely more in the realm of performance art – they weave a narrative as solid as a fog around compositions bent and cracked out of shape, all forming a production that just simply works.
For all of the work’s doom and gloom, there is an undercurrent of joy, the absolutely giddy bliss of two artists fully giving over to their creative expression and trusting that their desire and passion to bring this work to stage will find an audience.
Paul Capsis and Adam Noviello are nothing short of perfection. A duo of immense talent, both striking a commanding presence on stage and running the gamut of their combined ardour.
Capsis once again displays every reason why they should never not be on the stage – a cheeky side eye glance, the flicker of the mouth, the rigid tension of the body, each moment a masterclass in characterisation and performance.
Noviello’s jaw dropping vulnerability and poise is transcendent – a fading ingénue battling to be seen, they unleash their talent at the exact right moment, holding the audience in their grasp with each hypnotic note.
BROCKMAN’s lighting design is utterly beguiling, crashing from stark white to a the warm glow of sepia, the lighting acts as a guide into these characters lives and highlights the bitter sweet world they inhabit. The Nicol & Ford costumes bring an elegance to the stage, a simple shape detailed with innovative details that tells a story all of their own.
On for a tragically limited season, House of Rot is an intimate and affecting journey that, after hearing the Zombie / Send In The Clowns mash up, will leave audiences never quite the same.
HOUSE OF ROT
Hayes Theatre Co, 19 Greenknowe Avenue, Elizabeth Bay
Season continues to 28 June 2026
Information and Bookings: www.hayestheatre.com.au
Images: Adam Noviello and Paul Capsis – photo by Gianna Rizzo | Paul Capsis and Adam Noviello – photo by Gianna Rizzo
Review: Gavin Roach