Bloom – where aged care meets razzmatazz
A new musical with solid comedy credentials shines a light on life in a care home.
It’s a surprising and daring topic for musical theatre: the world as seen through the residents and staff on an aged care home. Even more surprising, it’s the work of writer and TV comedian Tom Gleisner.
But maybe that’s not so unusual, given the Have You Been Paying Attention? host’s credits include the Australian feel-good movie classic, The Castle.
The Age review of Bloom, currently being performed in Melbourne, begins, “The subject couldn’t be darker...” It continues, “The 2021 royal commission report unearthed nightmarish stories of neglect and abuse, calling for fundamental reform of the sector to safeguard the rights of the elderly. And the pandemic amplified awareness of the human cost of placing the vulnerable at the mercy of an industry that puts dollars before people.”
But Gleisner, composer Katie Weston, the cast – including standup comedian Anne Edmonds and veteran musician Frankie J Holden – and crew deftly ensure the audience experience is not depressing.
The musical is touted as a situation comedy, social satire, romcom, and feel-good farce.
One reviewer summed up the take-home message as, “living is still beautiful beyond the bounds of society’s ideas of usefulness”.
All that, jazzy songs and a five-piece band to boot.
Two new people arrive at the Pine Grove aged-care facility.
Reluctant resident Rose is considered a risk to herself after setting her bed on fire. She has lived an extraordinary single life, her sense of adventure taking her around the world on her own terms. When people tell her “you never found anyone, I tell them they never found me”, she says.
And there’s Finn, an unqualified university student who has been hired to do light duties in return for room and board. It’s a cost-saving plan by the the facility’s manager, Mrs MacIntyre.
Finn’s inappropriate recruitment and Mrs MacIntyre’s meanness with money has made enemies of the staff who genuinely care for the residents and do their best for them.
The residents include gruff tradie Doug and artist Leslie, who are trying to have a late-life romance; Betty, a kleptomaniac in a mobility scooter; Roland, a pompous former actor; and the heavily medicated Sal who nevertheless responds to music.
Needless to say, the characters rebel against Mrs MacIntyre. To say any more would be to say too much and give away the ending.
According to The Guardian’s reviewer, Tom Byrne, the show’s takeout message is powerful and pressing: “siloing aged care from the community doesn’t work; corporatisation of the sector is inherently destructive; and the young and the old must find a solution together. Our collective humanity is at stake.”
Limelight magazine cut to the chase, saying that after a slow start, Bloom “lives up to its name, revealing a big heart and warm sense of humour as it explores an aspect of society – and of many people’s lives – that is all too often ignored”.
The Age concluded: “New musicals are hard work, and it’s a credit to an all-star multigenerational cast, and Dean Bryant’s swift direction, that every element of the craft gels here.”
The Melbourne Theatre Company is performing Bloom at the Playhouse, Arts Centre, until 19 August.
Photo courtesy Melbourne Theatre Company/ Pia Johnson
Related reading: Limelight, The Guardian, ABC, The Age
