Overview

"Full House No Vacancies is a ""location play"" set in a run down St Kilda boarding house that was once a splendid Victorian mansion . On arrival at the front door to the audience are divided into three groups who rotate through bedrooms belonging to three of its residents where scenes are performed simultaneously (so that each audience group witnesses all the events of the play but in different viewing orders). These are the living spaces of Sheila (a semi-retired actress and chantreuse), Freddie a failed stand-up comic, and Rosie a professional masseuse. Into the mix come Liz, a pregnant friend of Rosie's, Gareth a deregistered Welsh doctor who has saved Freddy from being bashed up at his latest failed gig, and Nick, one of Rosie's clients (who turns out to be a developer intent on turning the Linga Longer into a car park for his latest highrise monstrosity next door). Over-lording the Lina Longa is its caretaker Morrey, a nervous, constantly irritated little man with one eye and less patience for anything. As the residents endeavor to save their ""home"" from destruction, characters wander from room to room, hiding secrets and plotting strategies. The story concludes with a ""happy hour"" in the main dining room out the back where Freddy finally gets to be funny, Gareth ties the knot with Liz, and Rosie has her sweet revenge on the heartless developer."

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Reviews

House of Fun In St. Kilda. In the tradition of Living Rooms (also by Paul Davies) comes Full House/No Vacancies an ambulatory piece which takes the audience, literally through the lives (and rooms) of the people whose lives revolve around the Hotel Linga Longa. The characters, all exaggerated to some extent, are vivid reflections of many of St. Kilda's more interesting personas. Full House/No Vacancies is an example of traditional theatre meeting the distilled St. Kilda Experience. It is a vibrant, lively production combining elements of comedy and drama. The sheer energy of the piece carries the audience along and draws it into what is exceptionally well synchronized slice-of-life theatre. But among the froth and the trauma lies a strong anti-development message. Quintessentially St Kilda the play makes a plea not only to preserve a unique bayside suburb, but places genereally which because of their bohemian nature or mix of residents give a city character and stop it becoming just another bland collection of skyscrapers...lots of fun, regular TheatreWorks patrons should not be disappointed. Carolyn O'Donnell The Herald It was difficult to work out who was acting and who was not. Actually everyone was and we were just beginning to realize the fact. Full House/No Vacancies is a brilliantly conceived story of one particular evening in a St. Kilda boarding house. Each character is trying to keep a grasp of their sanity and integrity while trying to avoid the commonplace occurences of the 1980s. The Linga Longa is a sanctuary free from Dial-A-Dinos, push button telephones, property developers and remote control television. It's residents live from day to day, striving to maintain the institution of St. Kilda, while still holding on to the glory of their youthful ambitions. My advice is to grab a tambourine, visit the residents of 26 Acland Street, and join in the Linga Longa sing-along. You might even win the chook. Elizabeth Wortley In Press/In Theatre Despite the outrageous comedy Paul Davies latest play Full House/No Vacancies does have a serious theme. Once famous for its drug addicts, prostitutes, street kids, drunks and generally seedy way of life, St. Kilda is on the move. It has become trendy, home to the yuppies, the developers and the entourage which goes with real estate on the rise. Not all agree that the change is for the good. Indeed St. Kilda is suffering from and identity crisis. It is quite a remarkable feat that all the actions takes place simultaneously as the audience (which is divided into groups) moves from boudoir to boudoir. Indeed it is a remarkable performance from the beginning to Freddie Finally's stand-up routine and Liz and Gareth's love song. Directed by Robin Laurie and produced by TheatreWorks Full House/No Vacancies is a theatrical event. Fern Voller Melbourne Report A riotous evening of laughter and innovative theatre. An array of eccentric characters...pop in and out of rooms as the story unfolds, giving a taste of life in a St. Kilda boarding house. Written by Paul Davies Full House/No Vacancies is a clever piece of theatre which induces total audience involvement. Scenes are played to the three audience groups as they move from room to room... Overall it makes for great entertainment and an hilarious night out and gets people involved in the true spirit of theatre. Claire Fitzpatrick The Melbourne/St Kilda Times Like many of Davies' pieces this is funny boisterous and thoroughly entertaining theatre with a social conscience. Barbara O'Sullivan South

Author Information

"Paul Davies is an award winning screenwriter, script editor and playwright who has written over a hundred episodes of TV series from Homicide to Something in the Air. He also helped spark the site-specific theatre revolution in Melbourne in the 1980s with TheatreWorks' production of his first play Storming Mont Albert By Tram (1982) on board a 'really moving' Melbourne tram. What became known as ""The Tram Show"" played over a dozen years to packed trams in Melbourne and Adelaide, generating around a million dollars at the box office (on today's figures) and trambulating a total distance that would have taken the production and its nightly audiences halfway around the world. The Tram Show's success lead to an outbreak of 'location theatre' in Melbourne throughout the 1980s including three other site specific plays by Paul: Breaking Up In Balwyn (1983, on a riverboat), Living Rooms (1986, in an historic mansion) and Full House/No Vacancies (1989, in a boarding house). Paul has also co-written five feature films Neil Lynn (with David Baker in 1984), and Traps (1985), All That is Solid (1988) and One Way Street (1990) - all with John Hughes. He also wrote and directed the short feature Exits (with Pat Laughren and Caz Howard in 1980). He has taught screenwriting at a number of universities and published numerous articles, reviews, stories and interviews in magazines such as Metro, Cinema Papers, Cantrill's Filmnotes, Australasian Drama Studies, Community Theatre In Australia, The Macquarie Companion to the Australian Media and Theatre Research International (Cambridge University)."

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