Closer

Chapel off Chapel is the main Arts venue at the City of Stonnington. The venue is cozy and has a bar that serves coffee, beer and a range of wine, which can be enjoyed at the foyer while admiring the art work displayed by the walls. The venue has a Main Chapel which can seat 250 people, and the Loft can accommodate 100. The experience can be quite intimate as the actors are just a few feet away from the front row. For this season, Patrick Marbel’s play Closer is the main attraction at the Chapel Loft. The best part is that any pre-show drinks can be taken inside the Loft and enjoyed while the show progresses.

The ads for play state that it is “Not for the emotionally squeamish, Closer mercilessly exposes the darker side of our relationships.” The plot revolves around relationships, intense immediate attractions, deception and betrayals between the four characters – Alice the stripper, Anna the photographer, Dan the Obituary Writer and Larry the Dermatologist - over a number of years.


In 1998 the play was awarded the Laurence Olivier Best New Play, while the movie (released in 2004 with the same title and also written by Marbel) has won 2 Golden Globe Awards: Natalie Portman for Best Supporting Actress – Drama and Clive Owens for Best Supporting Actor – Drama. The same actors were nominated for Academy Awards for the same category. In the play, Dylan Lloyd played the same role as Clive Owen as the dermatologist, and gave an exemplary performance that was most notable among the very competent cast.