Bloom
Call it “One Flew Over the Old Bird’s Nest”, if you like. Following its hugely successful debut with Melbourne Theatre Company in 2023, veteran comedian and Working Dog mainstay Tom Gleisner’s (The Castle, ABC television's Utopia) catchy new musical comedy set in a nursing home (and seasoned with a dash of tears, as expected) is now Sydney Theatre Company’s latest and very welcome offering. Directed by Dean Bryant (Dear Evan Hansen) with music by Katie Weston, Bloom is an across-the-board crowd-pleaser, the kind of popular four-quadrant gem that’s almost impossible to dislike. It even has a few pointed comments to make about the fraught state of aged care in Australia, but these never overwhelm the palpable sense of fun. What more could you want?
We get two fish out of water (or Randle McMurphys, if you will) for the price of one here, both arriving at the understaffed, underfunded (and, as it eventuates, underestimated) Pine Grove Aged Care facility on the same day. One is new resident (or possibly inmate?) Rose (played by Evelyn Krape, reprising her role from the Melbourne run) – a feisty-to-the-point-of-prickly old dame, age has not wearied Rose, but it did lead to an accidental fire that made her an unwilling candidate for permanent care. The other is stoner/slacker/music student Finn (Sloan Sudiro), who was drawn here by the promise of a free room and board in exchange for some light duties.
The duties turn out to be anything but light, as the frazzled staff –...