Theatre review: The Comeuppance, Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre

In The Comeuppance by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, five old friends meet for pre-drinks before their 20-year high school reunion. The venue is the porch of a house in the US that’s seen better days (both the country and the house). Some things have changed and some haven’t, but the conversation doesn’t flow like it used to, even with the help of some liquid courage. The audience is a fly on the wall for the next two hours, bar the intermittent monologues each performer delivers in a morbid stand-up comedy fashion.  

The play’s narrative is rather bland, even by kitchen-sink realism standards, and its search for meaning through discussions about life and death is somewhat overdone. However, Jacobs-Jenkins’ witty and relatable dialogue provides a wonderful canvas for the cast and director Gary Abrahams to work on. This is where The Comeuppance excels: showcasing wonderfully engrossing character studies. 

Julia Grace as Caitlin injects frenetic energy into the production as she enters, drawing out laughs with ease as the jaded wife of a US Capitol rioter ex-cop. Kevin Hofbauer as Paco somehow delivers an even more high-octane performance than Grace’s, flitting around the stage like a hummingbird on caffeine. He’s charming but on edge, like an elastic band pulled tight waiting to snap. 

Khisraw Jones-Shukoor is suitably insufferable as the uppity Berlin transplant Emilio; Tess Masters as Cristina is earnest and likeable, even as a very convincing rambling drunk, and AYA leans into the physical comedy provided by their character Ursula’s lack of depth perception.

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The pacing lags at times, on occasion for dramatic effect, but in other moments due to stagnant energy on stage. This is particularly the case in the last 20 minutes of the production, which comes to an anti-climactic end. Some unsteady accent work from the cast also breaks momentum, especially when this story could just as easily be set in Canberra as it is in Washington, DC.

Luckily, the performances are more than engrossing enough to keep you wondering what’s going to happen next and, overall, the cast and creative team ensure you won’t regret the time or money spent. 

The Comeuppance, by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
Red Stitch Actor’s Theatre
Director: Gary Abrahams
Set/Costume Design: Ella Butler
Lighting/Sound Design: Joe Paradise Lui
Dialect Coach: Matt Furlani
Stage Manager: Jessica Smart
Hansen Graduate Attachment: Sookyung Shin
Cast: AYA, Julia Grace, Kevin Holfbauer, Khisraw Jones-Shukoor, Douglas Lyons, Tess Masters

Tickets: $20-$69

The Comeuppance will be performed at Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre in St Kilda, Melbourne until 25 May 2025.