Gamilaroi woman Megan Wilding’s mainstage writing debut is best enjoyed knowing very little about this flirty will-they-won’t-they tale with a twist.

As the too-revealing program of Game. Set. Match. suggests, writing about it meaningfully without saying too much may be impossible. I’ll tread carefully, but be warned.

Megan Wilding and Rick Davies in GAME. SET. MATCH. Photo © Gianna Rizzo

Best known as an actor, including in STC/Malthouse’s Blackie Blackie Brown, Wilding has written a clever script that won the 2021 Griffin Award for Australian Playwriting.

For Malthouse’s world premiere season of Game. Set. Match. directed by former STC resident director Jessica Arthur, Wilding is also on stage opposite Rick Davies (TV’s Offspring).

This two-hander opens with young Aboriginal woman Ray cleaning up after the wake of tennis legend Betty Hughes. She’s surprised by the too-late arrival of Joshua, CFO of Betty’s charitable foundation.

Although they seem mismatched, sparks fly as Ray and Joshua get talking and very slowly reveal themselves. When that twist comes, it’s apparent each has kept a great deal hidden, and layers of meaning about colonisation, power and violence are unveiled.

For all the subterfuge this story is told with clarity....