In a humble pie shop, the brilliantly bizarre Mr Red Light serves up a wild, theatrical slice of the unexpected in a play about a hostage situation.

Dressed in a joker’s hat a lone worker (Angus Stevens) is quietly engrossed in his book, until two customers arrive. First Eva (Jennifer Ludlam), a dishevelled older woman with a haunted expression, who orders the same pie every day without fail. Followed by Chrys (Nova Moala-Knox), whom he attempts to flirt with, despite her rebuttals. Suddenly, a man in a red stocking mask bursts in wielding a gun. He’s just botched a bank robbery next door and decides to take refuge in the pie shop.

Co-directed by Ben Crowder and Carl Bland, and written by Bland, Mr Red Light is steeped in its Auckland setting – Kiwi accents and all. The cast handles the tonal shifts with finesse as play lurches from laugh-out-loud absurdity to moments of genuine tension with nerve-jangling immediacy.

Brayden Cresswell is a standout as the hapless gunman – menacing one moment, delightfully clueless the next. Agreeing to let his hostages eat the pies but going to all the trouble of throwing all the plastic cutlery outside. Any confidence in his abilities dissolves when he starts sweeping the floor and tidying up condiments mid-crisis.

Humour is peppered throughout. A highlight is Trevor, the kindly police negotiator (voiced by Bland) who shares far too much about his emotional burnout.

The quirky narrative is interspersed with fantasy, memories and moments in time, giving us an insight into our captives’ and captor’s lives. These are absurd vignettes, some of which star Bland, and he shines as various characters – an Italian solider, an ant, and a terrible waiter during a romantic interlude.

Andrew Foster’s set design transforms the stage into a fast-food outlet – Joker’s – complete with a glowing menu board, working pie warmer (yes, the cast actually eat them), Charley Draper’s clever video design integrates pie names Billy T, Little Hen and Little Mermaid into the story itself, with screens shifting content in real time.

As funny as this play is, and it is, it’s also violent and not for children (recommended viewing is 15+) The gunman is erratic, and the moments when he points the gun directly at his hostages are genuinely terrifying. It’s a strange dichotomy of laughter to terror. The audience’s perspective is of watching the action through the shop’s glass wall. These moments feel real; we aren’t watching from the safety of a screen, the actors and the gun are in full view. I jumped more than once.

In today’s digital world Mr Red Light is a delicious reminder that live performance has the power to shock, thrill – and leave you reeling.

4 stars.

Run time: 1 hour 25 minutes (no interval)

Mr Red Light is playing at Riverside Theatre Parramatta until 12 July 2025. 

Produced by Nightsong, an independent theatre company from New Zealand.

For tickets visit Riverside Theatre