Understanding Women

UNDERSTANDING WOMEN

"Some things are not as easy as you would expect"

Cast: 1 female and 3 male actors.
Length: 2 Acts (110 minutes)
Genre: Comedy
Synopsis: Mike, Dave and Julian spend a weekend in a garden shed determined to break an age-old mystery. After a quick tour of Dave’s garden shed the men open their first beer and begin comparing notes on the opposite sex. The hapless Julian has been talked into buying a bible when he was shopping for a self-help book. The Shakespeare quoting “ladies’ man”, Mike, has bought a box of porn. Inexplicably the porn is no more than women’s gossip magazines making Mike the recipient of gleeful ridicule and leaving him for once in his life speechless. Only the stoic Dave has succeeded; his supply of beer will see them through the weekend… if they don’t kill each other first.
The men quickly realize their simple task of understanding women isn’t going to be so easily achieved. Beginning with attempts to cajole from each other their inner-most secrets; “each man has a darkroom… what are you hiding in yours?”… and moving onto botched relationship tests to find their inner superhero. A trunk of costumes is discovered, relics from Dave’s wife’s days of amateur dramatics. The men decide to try a role-play to get to the bottom of what makes the opposite sex tick. The scene is set; a cancan bar in Paris, Julian is a soldier on leave, Dave is a Viagra salesman and Mike has drawn the short straw as the local cancan dancer. Before long Julian has been knocked out by Mike, and Mike is tied to a chair and Dave is threatening torture with a car battery and jumper leads.
Out of the violent and sublimely comic chaos that the weekend has become, the three men unexpectedly reveal aspects of themselves they would never have dreamt of bringing into the open. It’s not women they begin to understand but themselves.
This fast moving, hilarious, and often outrageous comedy, delivers a poignant and highly entertaining night out.

Characters

1 Female / 3 Male

Dave: Mid forties to mid fifties, married for 20 - 25 years, two teenage or adult kids. Dave is very practical and down to earth; He is dressed rougher, is unshaven and has a roughness about his manner.
Mike: Late thirties to mid forties. Could be same age or younger than Dave but any age difference has no manifestation in their friendship, he has a problem with committing himself to relationships. A schoolteacher, Mike uses his knowledge of things to put himself above others. He is clean, well dressed, turns on the charm for the ladies but is coarse around the men.
Julian: Younger than Dave, possible to be as young as late twenties but could be as old as Mike, hasn’t had a relationship since primary school. Clerical / administrative career, is good with ideas but useless with their application. He is dressed a little out of fashion, but not a geek or a nerd to look at. He can tend to be clumsy and uncomfortable under pressure.
Dianne: An attractive woman of indeterminate age.

What the critics are saying


"Quick, witty dialogue makes for a fast-moving story."
- The Beacon

"The dialogue flows easily, flitting naturally from topic to topic."

"Sure to appeal and entertain a wide cross-section of people."

Productions


Collaborati Entertainment - Australia
Whangamata Theatre - New Zealand
New Plymouth Theatre - New Zealand
Masterton Theatre - New Zealand
Rotorua Little Theatre - New Zealand
South Otago Theatrical - New Zealand
Cambridge Theatre - New Zealand
Theatre Whakatane - New Zealand
Tokoroa Little Theatre - New Zealand
Detour Theatre - New Zealand
Absolute Theatre - New Zealand
Tonic Theatre - New Zealand

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