Antilton, at Theatre Works’ Explosives Factory - 70 minutes

It has the look and feel of a silly student production.

It marks the first fully written play and directorial debut of Oscar O’Brien.

The concept – pinch the brilliance of Lin Manuel Miranda’s musical Hamilton and make it about ants. I kid you not.

And the vast majority of the protagonists in the work give the contention the antipathy it deserves.

So, to the plot: a writer who lives in a share house (Kyle McCallion, whose character is The Artist) is struggling to produce something meaningful.

Photos by Izabella Procaccino

While looking up at a street light attracting bugs and interacting with his house mates, he comes up with the idea of Antilton, being a bad pun on Hamilton.

The others have a bit of fun with the notion, but dismiss it as a joke, but The Artist can’t and won’t let it go.

He locks himself away in his room for three days and emerges with a very slight derivative of Hamilton.

In short, the characters all have ant names. Think Anton Burr, instead of Aaron Burr, Lafayant to replace Lafayette, Jefferant, not Jefferson and so on.

Believing he has the makings of something special, The Artist is determined to stage Antilton.

He ropes in his reluctant house mates – the most hesitant of whom is The Skeptic (Riley Street), along with The Enabler (Jessica David) – to assume roles.

Then he decides to hold open auditions. The problem is only one person is keen to try out and he is a flighty as a cat on a hot tin roof. Not for naught is he known as Nervous Noel (Jacob Kuek).

After a number of false starts and major meltdowns, rehearsals for Antilton – which will be staged in the back yard – go ahead.

Only, even now, it is hardly smooth sailing for this trouble plagued production.

More than once, The Artist thinks he is cooked.

Among others who play a part in proceedings are a neighbour and theatre critic (Madeleine Gosden) and another roommate (Jeremy Harland). The latter becomes stage manager.

Before this is over, there will be ant headbands at the ready and a lot of heavy furniture being moved about frequently.

Reflective of the script, Oscar O’Brien was in a postgraduate void after training as an actor when he had the strange but original idea for Antilton.

The Artist’s need for validation, fear of failure and shame around his life choices all comes from what O’Brien was battling at the time.

Regardless, would I have encouraged him to abandon the idea? You betcha.

A ridiculous, over-the-top show requires ridiculous, over-the-top performances and none were better than Jacob Kuek.

He not only played Nervous Noel as a quivering mess, but became Mr Cool as Brave Noel and evoked fear as an enforcer.

The highlight of the night was a meek tea drinking scene, which had the audience in fits of laughter.

Riley Street evokes antipathy with aplomb.

Arguably, they have the best lines in the piece when, as The Skeptic, they call out The Artist’s show as “awful … derivative … and void of creativity”.

Antilton is not just lightweight, but it lacks substance – I mean it. There is not enough there to sustain 70 minutes of entertainment.

It is not as funny as it could be or as funny as it should have been.

It is a one-trick pony and I was ready to get off the horse very early on.

Further, what the? I couldn’t understand why the designer saw the need to include such heavy furniture that was constantly being moved. Perhaps it was simply to kill time.

One item that I did appreciate though was the massive rubbish bin, replete with loads of paper.

It represents The Artist’s previous attempts to write his magnum opus, to which Antilton could readily be added (of course, that was the whole point).

As any playwright worth their salt knows, success is often hard won, after a winding road paved with good intentions.

Perhaps a younger audience will be more tolerant of Antilton than I was. I saw it as an excruciatingly extended skit with umpteen flat patches.

It is playing at Theatre Works’ Explosives Factory until 12th April, 2025.