Understanding Women

Understanding Women

Understanding Women - Three Men, Half a Brain!

Cast...
3 Male / 1 Female
Length: Two Acts (110 minutes)
Genre: Comedy

Synopsis...
Mike, Dave and Julian spend a weekend in a garden shed determined to break an age-old mystery. Armed with a case of beer, a box of girlie magazines and a holy book they are going to "understand women". What they discover is not quite what they expected. Understanding Women is a comedy play for both sexes!

Characters...
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.

Premier Production...
This updated version of the play was first presented at the Litt Park and Baycourt Theatres, in June, 2007. Producing companies were Absolute Theatre Co. (Litt Park Theatre) and Detour Theatre (Baycourt Theatre).
The original cast/director was as follows…
Dave - Stuart Gunn
Julian - Liam Hagan
Mike - Devon Williamson
Dianne - Katharyn Roxburgh
Director - Devon Williamson

Perusal Scripts...
Perusal scripts are available for this play. Click here to order.

Understanding Women has been produced by the following theatres...

  • Tonic Theatre
  • Detour Theatre
  • Absolute Theatre
  • Theatre Whakatane
  • Tokoroa Little Theatre
  • Cambridge Theatre (May 2010)

 

Reviews, Views and Quotes..

A Great Kiwi Play!!

"A lively, fast paced and clever script... Strong characters that the audience readily related to... Delightfully balanced between thought provoking and funny... Easily staged for any size venue. Ideal for Repertory Theatre, a small company or even a touring production. A great kiwi play!!"

Reviewer: Toni Henderson
Director - Tauranga Musical Theatre.

 

Kiwi blokes ponder women … and the meaning of life!

Whakatane Beacon Review


Friday, 18 July 2008
UNDERSTANDING WOMEN
Written by Devon Williamson
Directed by Bill Clark
Starring: Dave McMeeking, Brian Skilling, Mark Howell, Sheryl Goldie
Whakatane Little Theatre
Friday, July 18, to Saturday, July 26

IT might not provide any answers but Theatre Whakatane’s production of the comedy Understanding Women isn’t short on laughs.
The curtain opens to reveal the uniform shed of a typical Kiwi male - cluttered and messy, with the token girlie calendar on the dunny door and we are immediately catapulted into the intimate world of three very different men.
I can only imagine that this is what it would be like to be a fly on the wall during a men’s drinking session - as I watched them, sometimes in complete bewilderment, while the threesome pondered the meaning of life.
Dave, Mike and Julian - played by Brian Skilling, Dave McMeeking and Mark Howell respectively - couldn’t be more different.
Dave has been married for a hundred years, Mike is a lady’s man and Julian is shy and inexperienced.
Each character brings his own charm to the play - Dave is the silent and burly type, Mike is suave and confident and Julian is completely clueless. Because of these obvious and accentuated differences, they tend to bounce off each other as they push their individual ideas.
Each actor performs well and appears well suited to their character.
The dialogue flows easily, flitting naturally from topic to topic and, apart from a noticeable lack of profanities that you would normally assume to be abundant when men get on the piss, the conversation is believable and humorous.
But there is more to this play than just drunken ponderings, with role-playing, cross-dressing, relationship-profiling and even a bit of DIY torture.
Some of the play’s unique charm lies in its authenticity, from the Lion Red beer to sizzling bacon, a boiling jug and sparking jumper cables.
As the weekend progresses, the mood deepens as the men delve into their “dark rooms” - although some only relent under the threat of torture.
Sheryl Goldie makes a cameo appearance in the second act in an attempt to extend each man’s character by showing their different reactions to a chance meeting and the men provide several soliloquies to explain the state of play throughout the show.
Quick, witty dialogue makes for a fast-moving story that, although it doesn’t get anywhere near the concept of “understanding women”, does reveal the extent of men’s cluelessness.
This is a real Kiwi comedy that is sure to appeal and entertain a wide cross-section of people. 

Tokoroa Little Theatre production... 

In 2008, we staged a six performance season of "Understanding Women" at the Tokoroa Little Theatre.  The production was very well received, attracting good sized audiences.  The plot, the humour, the action and the set went down very well, raising lots of laughs and very positive comments after the show.  It is an interesting play, different in several ways and well worth staging.
D J Blair, President, Tokoroa Little Theatre.

Theatre Whakatane production...

Interesting title and interesting twist to Understanding Women.
For Theatre Whakatane, Devon Williamsons play Understanding Women,  captures the true essence of the love of a man has for his wife and more importantly his shed.  This play covers a variety of emotions of men when faced with everyday life which they discuss over a box of beer, which the audience were amazed was drunk on stage  the girlie mags and a bible.  There is intention that these blokes will understand women, however, the ending was the one aspect of the play that threw the audiences and received with mixed feelings as it was so true to life.
Whakatane audiences were impressed with the play and many were heard discussing little quirks that were part of their own lives from the equipment in the shed to the language used.  The title enables you to use creative marketing to sell this production.  A set which can be assembled from just whatever you have in your props and set department to create a 'shed' so limited budget to have to worry about.
Going by the critics write up in the local paper, local patrons were surprised that this play was written by a Tauranga playwright.  Theatre Whakatane have expressed an interest in Devon's other works to consider producing.
Gwenda Ruegg, Secretary, Theatre Whakatane