Top Coat Review

Michelle Law makes her Sydney Theatre Company debut with an irreverently outrageous and frenetically farcical new body-swap comedy, Top Coat.

The play follows Chinese-Australian nail-technician Winnie (Kime Tsukakoshi), who is suffocated by the demands and temperaments of her mainly white, privileged clientele. Whilst dreaming of owning her own salon in the near future, Winnie encounters a customer, Kate (Amber McMahon) – a white, entitled, TV executive – who she freakishly swaps bodies with after a mysterious electrical incident. Pandemonium ensues as both women are shoved into each other’s perspectives of the world and manically attempt to regain their original bodies and lives, in this brazenly funny satire of Australia’s media industry.

STC’s Directing Associate Courtney Stewart has crafted a production that explores the layers of inequality from various perspectives within each character, whilst maintaining the up-beat, engrossingly humorous nature of Law’s writing. Stewart has manifested moments within Law’s piece into excelling comedic staging. One particular example of this brilliant exposition is in a romantic montage, where set pieces fly across the white cyclorama which takes centre stage, as two characters engage around music varying from “A Little Bit Alexis” of Schitt’s Creek to “About Damn Time” by Lizzo, receiving thunderous cheering from the audience.

Notably, designer James Lew has built a unique and captivating sequence of sets that interchangeably move across Wharf 1 Theatre, often diegetically. These sets complement the bright-hued colours of Kate Baldwins’ lighting design and create a visual landscape symbolic of the fun nature of Law’s dialogue.

Under the direction of Stewart, the ensemble cast of Top Coat not only achieves a sense of unity in their portrayals of each character but also entertaining comedic energy. Kime Tsukakoshi’s portrayal of Winnie anchors the piece with its core themes of sexism and racism, whilst Amber McMahon’s embodiment of Kate provides hilarious dead-pan, dry comedy in her fish-out-of-water scenario. Remarkably, John Batchelor plays the roles of Barry, Jeremey, and Karen, amongst others, often effortlessly switching characterisation mid-scene, to audience amazement.

Behind the neon colours, upbeat music, and surface-level absurdist comedy, Michelle Law smuggles boldly confronting themes of day-to-day sexism and racism within the exhilarating nature of her new body-swap comedy.