Review: Timmy

If you've ever watched a sitcom or movie and felt irritated by the lack of quality lines rationed out to the female cast, then this comedy from Roxy Dunn should prove a much needed tonic. Yes, it bears the name of its sole male character, but he isn't the focal point of the play's action so much as a burning effigy onto which the scabrously funny writer and star douses petrol for the best part of an hour. Timmy isn't a battle of the sexes, so much as a decisive victory.

Events unfold as a protracted argument between a dysfunctional couple. At various stages throughout the play, they are an item, contrite exes and co-dependent friends. Roxy's character Judith initiates most of the dialogue, pushing and prodding her evasive and non-committal foil. We're sympathetic toward the curiously compatible couple, even with Timmy distinguishing himself as an oblivious manchild.

A decade older than Judith, Timmy's increasingly obstinate and undignified refusal to plan for the future is the deserving source of his partner's exasperation. The former's relentless put downs are provoked by Timmy's passivity, so always seem justified. Yet while she emerges victorious, this isn't a moment of triumph for Judith. Both she and her love interest are left acutely aware that refusing to make choices is ultimately more limiting than committing to courses of action.