Content warnings: Discussions of abortion and emotional abuse, coarse language, sexual references
Inscape Assembly premiered a brilliant new full-length musical, Checked Out, at the Merthyr Uniting Church in New Farm for a limited season. Directed by Haley Meekan, with assistant direction by Mak Harris, Checked Out followed the overworked and underpaid employees of Greenmart Grocers as they faced fears, chased dreams, stocked shelves, and dealt with the worst of humanity (disgruntled customers).
Alice (Cameron Grimmett) is a new member of the Greenmart team learning the ropes, and her arrival is the catalyst for a number of changes. Romantic tensions are rising between employee Harry (Jamie Dickman) and store manager Hannah (Gillian Thompson), while closet poet Lara (Arina Dara) has a huge crush on former coworker Immy. Prickly mean girl Jessica has difficulty making friends when her father owns the store, and easy-going dad Jet (Joel Dow) calmly counsels his younger coworkers through their problems, with his relaxed attitude and goofy humour. When the grocery store is threatened with closure, the team has to stay on their best behaviour, and be on the lookout for a secret shopper.
All of the musical’s main characters had complete and well-developed arcs, from the evolution of Jessica and Alice’s unlikely friendship to Harry and Hannah’s relationship and Lara’s growing creative confidence. Ensemble members Mark James, Phoebe Quinn, and Torin Cook performed the remaining Greenmart team roles as well as all the customers and minor roles like Alice’s boyfriend, Brad, and the secret shopper.
The comedy was balanced by heavier throughlines about toxic relationships and unwanted pregnancy, and these were all managed well by the actors. Overall, Checked Out was a musical about young people making big decisions and taking personal risks to find happiness, and supporting and encouraging each other along the way.
The music was performed by a live band: Alex Wilson on piano, Tristan Hargreaves on drums, Grace Clarkson on guitar, and Kyle Neilan on bass. The key Greenmart characters had solos that dug further into their inner lives – Lara’s and Jet’s were my personal favourites, although Cameron Grimmett’s solo as Alice repeatedly gave me chills. The vocals were occasionally overpowered by the music, especially in the opening number and Jessica’s solo, and there was some crackling in the microphones; however, these were minor disruptions, especially given the significant number of quick costume changes required for each actor.
Clever set design included shuffling registers, grocery shelves, and several settings outside the Greenmart store. Choreography by Hollie Pianta was excellent, using props like chairs and shopping baskets, and the scene transitions also included music and choreography. Lighting design by Caleb Bartlett was also very good, saturating the stage in Greenmart’s corporate green and adding focus and dynamism to the solo songs.
As well as being painfully relatable for anyone who has worked in retail, Inscape Assembly’s Checked Out had everything you would want in a musical – catchy original songs, great characters that you wanted to see win, and plenty of humour and heart.
Checked Out was performed at the Merthyr Road Uniting Church, New Farm, on 25 & 26 August 2023
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