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Play Not all Greek to Leese

Staff ReporterCanning Gazette

Written by WA playwright Noel O’Neill and directed by Valerie Dragojevic, hilarity turns to disaster in a comedy of errors set in 1960s London when a man makes a promise he cannot keep.

The story is about Nicolous Pilankous who celebrates with a bottle of ouzo one night and suddenly gets a call from his lonely cousin Stavros in Greece.

In his drunken state, Nicky promises Stavros a wife ” leading to hilarious and sometimes disastrous results.

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Leese plays Nicky’s son Dimitri, someone he describes as a man-child. ‘He’s a big dopey simpleton and takes everything at face value,’ he said.

‘Dimitri doesn’t really get irony or sarcasm and wants to be like his father. The main challenge is keeping a straight face and not breaking character because rehearsals have been laugh-a-minute.’

Leese has acted since 2008. He worked mainly in the UK as an extra in feature films and television with small roles in short and independent films.

Since returning to Perth, he has appeared with Playlovers and the Graduate Dramatic Society in Subscription To Love, The Merry-Go-Round in the Sea and Boeing Boeing, which scored him a best lead actor nomination at the annual Plover Awards.

Leese has also appeared in the short film First Date Worst Date, recently screened on ABC2.

O’Neill said his inspiration for the show came from the Greeks he grew up with in London in the late 1950s and ’60s.

‘I fell in love with how passionate it all seemed and how passionate these Greeks were with their music and dancing,’ he said.

‘The most interesting aspect of It’s All Greek To Me is watching characters gradually change as the play develops. There are lessons to be learnt through their mistakes ” the rest is up to the gods.’

It’s All Greek To Me plays at 8pm, May 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16 and 17 with a 2pm matinee May 11. Tickets are $25, $20 concession. Book at http://oldmilltheatre.com.au/tickets or on 9367 8719.

The theatre is on the corner of Mends Street and Mill Point Road, South Perth, opposite the Windsor Hotel.