Overview

The funniest night's entertainment in years. Theatre That Really Works ! This inventive piece of modern theatre really gets down to the nitty gritty in its story of a very ordinary suburban couple caught up in the traps of modern society. The laughs come thick and fast. All the cast are excellent. It's so good one wonders how long it will be before Paul Davies material enters the mainstream theatre, perhaps the MTC. I can't recommend Last Train to St. Kilda highly enough... (Toorak Times) Last Train to St. Kilda deals with a society that has gone mad. A society whose opinions are formed by newspapers like the Daily Liar, where all the money has holes in it and where, about the only thing you're allowed to get without your ID is a cold sore. Can a mere individual Turn the Tide. Can a play save a railway line? Make sure you catch Last Train to St. Kilda and find out. (Waves Magazine) The result is partly a rail against the government, and partly a reaction against the attack on our privacy from bureaucrats, in particular their misuse of computer data bases. The style of the play is Mel Brooks. Davies certainly has some brilliant ideas and some razor-sharp observations on contemporary life. (St. Kilda Times)

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Reviews

"The funniest night's entertainment in years. Theatre That Really Works ! This inventive piece of modern theatre really gets down to the nitty gritty in its story of a very ordinary suburban couple caught up in the traps of modern society. The laughs come thick and fast. All the cast are excellent. It's so good one wonders how long it will be before Paul Davies material enters the mainstream theatre, perhaps the MTC. I can't recommend Last Train to St. Kilda highly enough... (Toorak Times) Set somewhere in the near future the play explores the suburb affectionately. The show moves at a rapid pace, using a series of television style sketches. Performances are strong. In all a pleasant slight evening of humour and social satire. John Hindle (The Herald) Last Train to St. Kilda deals with a society that has gone mad. A society whose opinions are formed by newspapers like the Daily Liar, where all the money has holes in it and where, about the only thing you're allowed to get without your ID is a cold sore. Can a mere individual Turn the Tide. Can a play save a railway line? Make sure you catch Last Train to St. Kilda and find out. (Waves Magazine) The result is partly a rail against the government, and partly a reaction against the attack on our privacy from bureaucrats, in particular their misuse of computer data bases. The style of the play is Mel Brooks. Davies certainly has some brilliant ideas and some razor-sharp observations on contemporary life, but for each classic line there are a dozen clichés. Last Train to St. Kilda might appeal to lovers of farce or activists in need of some comic relief. Chris Boyd (Australian Visitor News, Melbourne Times, St. Kilda Times) The actual, as opposed to the theatrical last train to St. Kilda ran on July 31 1987 which added a certain poignancy to TheatreWorks' entertaining show. It was great to be in a community theatre packed to capacity (about 300) by and appreciative and theatre-wise audience. Ann Nugent (The Canberra Times) What a perfect piece of timing. The last train will run on the old St.Kilda railway line next week and five days later playwright Paul Davies the man who gave us Storming Mont Albert by Tram will premiere his new play. A suitably nutty play about the massive changes the old seaside suburb is undergoing. Graeme Johnstone (The Sun) One of Melbourne's more inventive theatre companies...Defiantly parochial. Last Train to St. Kilda is written like a film, very simple props, entrances, exits, ""very Joe Orteon or Dario Fo: quick lines and rapid changes. There's even a black and white Hollywood feel like those old films Last Train to Bombay. The sets and costumes are black and white. I wanted to capture a sense of the romance of the train. (The Herald) In tackling burning issues of the moment Davies and TheatreWorks are to be congratulated. Enjoyable punchy vigorous. It's a very funny piece and its well served by Denis Moore's inventive and energetic production. But there are distinct problems: its awkward structure and its tendency to take on more issues and themes than it can develop with any thoroughness. Geoffrey Milne (Centre Stage)"

The funniest night's entertainment in years. Theatre That Really Works ! This inventive piece of modern theatre really gets down to the nitty gritty in its story of a very ordinary suburban couple caught up in the traps of modern society. The laughs come thick and fast. All the cast are excellent. It's so good one wonders how long it will be before Paul Davies material enters the mainstream theatre, perhaps the MTC. I can't recommend Last Train to St. Kilda highly enough... (Toorak Times) Set somewhere in the near future the play explores the suburb affectionately. The show moves at a rapid pace, using a series of television style sketches. Performances are strong. In all a pleasant slight evening of humour and social satire. John Hindle (The Herald) Last Train to St. Kilda deals with a society that has gone mad. A society whose opinions are formed by newspapers like the Daily Liar, where all the money has holes in it and where, about the only thing you're allowed to get without your ID is a cold sore. Can a mere individual Turn the Tide. Can a play save a railway line? Make sure you catch Last Train to St. Kilda and find out. (Waves Magazine) The result is partly a rail against the government, and partly a reaction against the attack on our privacy from bureaucrats, in particular their misuse of computer data bases. The style of the play is Mel Brooks. Davies certainly has some brilliant ideas and some razor-sharp observations on contemporary life, but for each classic line there are a dozen cliches. Last Train to St. Kilda might appeal to lovers of farce or activists in need of some comic relief. Chris Boyd (Australian Visitor News, Melbourne Times, St. Kilda Times) The actual, as opposed to the theatrical last train to St. Kilda ran on July 31 1987 which added a certain poignancy to TheatreWorks' entertaining show. It was great to be in a community theatre packed to capacity (about 300) by and appreciative and theatre-wise audience. Ann Nugent (The Canberra Times) What a perfect piece of timing. The last train will run on the old St.Kilda railway line next week and five days later playwright Paul Davies the man who gave us Storming Mont Albert by Tram will premiere his new play. A suitably nutty play about the massive changes the old seaside suburb is undergoing. Graeme Johnstone (The Sun) One of Melbourne's more inventive theatre companies...Defiantly parochial. Last Train to St. Kilda is written like a film, very simple props, entrances, exits, very Joe Orteon or Dario Fo: quick lines and rapid changes. There's even a black and white Hollywood feel like those old films Last Train to Bombay. The sets and costumes are black and white. I wanted to capture a sense of the romance of the train. (The Herald) In tackling burning issues of the moment Davies and TheatreWorks are to be congratulated. Enjoyable punchy vigorous. It's a very funny piece and its well served by Denis Moore's inventive and energetic production. But there are distinct problems: its awkward structure and its tendency to take on more issues and themes than it can develop with any thoroughness. Geoffrey Milne (Centre Stage)

"The funniest night's entertainment in years. Theatre That Really Works ! This inventive piece of modern theatre really gets down to the nitty gritty in its story of a very ordinary suburban couple caught up in the traps of modern society. The laughs come thick and fast. All the cast are excellent. It's so good one wonders how long it will be before Paul Davies material enters the mainstream theatre, perhaps the MTC. I can't recommend Last Train to St. Kilda highly enough... (Toorak Times) Set somewhere in the near future the play explores the suburb affectionately. The show moves at a rapid pace, using a series of television style sketches. Performances are strong. In all a pleasant slight evening of humour and social satire. John Hindle (The Herald) Last Train to St. Kilda deals with a society that has gone mad. A society whose opinions are formed by newspapers like the Daily Liar, where all the money has holes in it and where, about the only thing you're allowed to get without your ID is a cold sore. Can a mere individual Turn the Tide. Can a play save a railway line? Make sure you catch Last Train to St. Kilda and find out. (Waves Magazine) The result is partly a rail against the government, and partly a reaction against the attack on our privacy from bureaucrats, in particular their misuse of computer data bases. The style of the play is Mel Brooks. Davies certainly has some brilliant ideas and some razor-sharp observations on contemporary life, but for each classic line there are a dozen clich�s. Last Train to St. Kilda might appeal to lovers of farce or activists in need of some comic relief. Chris Boyd (Australian Visitor News, Melbourne Times, St. Kilda Times) The actual, as opposed to the theatrical last train to St. Kilda ran on July 31 1987 which added a certain poignancy to TheatreWorks' entertaining show. It was great to be in a community theatre packed to capacity (about 300) by and appreciative and theatre-wise audience. Ann Nugent (The Canberra Times) What a perfect piece of timing. The last train will run on the old St.Kilda railway line next week and five days later playwright Paul Davies the man who gave us Storming Mont Albert by Tram will premiere his new play. A suitably nutty play about the massive changes the old seaside suburb is undergoing. Graeme Johnstone (The Sun) One of Melbourne's more inventive theatre companies...Defiantly parochial. Last Train to St. Kilda is written like a film, very simple props, entrances, exits, ""very Joe Orteon or Dario Fo: quick lines and rapid changes. There's even a black and white Hollywood feel like those old films Last Train to Bombay. The sets and costumes are black and white. I wanted to capture a sense of the romance of the train. (The Herald) In tackling burning issues of the moment Davies and TheatreWorks are to be congratulated. Enjoyable punchy vigorous. It's a very funny piece and its well served by Denis Moore's inventive and energetic production. But there are distinct problems: its awkward structure and its tendency to take on more issues and themes than it can develop with any thoroughness. Geoffrey Milne (Centre Stage)"

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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