Female middle age crashes into the beauty/wellness industry in this new play by Marieke Hardy, who has chosen material ripe for satire and squandered it.

Director Leticia Cáceres and a cast that includes Christie Whelan Browne do their best to make it work, but more often than not the MTC commission’s comedy lacks bite.

Losing Face: Madeleine Sami, Michala Banas and Christie Whelan Browne. Photo © Pia Johnson

Losing Face sees Jo celebrating her 50th by inviting besties Lauren and Simone on an all-expenses-paid luxury wellness weekend. It’s a long overdue catch-up for these friends whose lives have taken different directions.

Expecting spas and facials, they soon discover the retreat is for cosmetic procedures performed by biohacker Tomas. Together with his assistant/acolyte, he emotionally manipulates the women into getting work done – though not before they escape for a bender like old times.

Losing Face is marketed as a “perimenopausal Weekend at Bernie’s”, so no surprise there’s a dead body to prop up like in the 1980s film. It’s just one of the farcical elements in this play.

It’s peppered with lines intended to be funny that rarely work for me – despite being in the obvious target demographic of Gen X women. That makes the farce difficult to roll with. Of course humour is a matter of taste, and there were many laughs and chuckles among the opening night crowd.

Melbourne Theatre Company’s Losing Face. Photo © Pia Johnson

The women’s “remember when” tales of youthful exploits quickly become tiresome, and middle-age confessions from feeling sore to unattractive are in search of zingers. The language used to persuade and shame them parodies an industry peddling happiness and eternal youth, but laying it on thick raises expectations of comic pay-off that are largely unmet.

The flabby humour squashes a few serious moments tackling the challenges of middle age more directly, including the evolution of long friendships.

Whelan Browne’s flair for comedy has been apparent time and again, including in MTC’s Kimberly Akimbo last year, but as Lauren she doesn’t have much to work with. A silly walk, pained expressions and the catchphrase “that never happened” don’t amount to much, though her sight gag with a sign is hilarious.

Also no stranger to comedy, with credits including Avenue Q and TV’s Upper Middle Bogan, Michala Banas plays Jo. She amps up the physical and vocal energy of this character trying to keep the friendship vibe going.

Madeleine Sami, whose CV is full of giggles like Deadloch and Our Flag Means Death, takes the role of Simone. It’s a tough gig selling gags about being a lesbian trying to keep up with her much younger partner.

Wil King is snarky, buff and athletic as Tomas, though their South African accent is over the top and wayward. As the nameless assistant, Genevieve Morris is too earthy for someone who has drunk Tomas’s Kool-Aid, but she’s suitably breathy and floaty in the small role of an influencer.

Losing Face: Madeleine Sami and Genevieve Morris. Photo © Pia Johnson

Attractively lit by Amelia Lever-Davidson, Jo Briscoe’s set is this production’s most successful element. Its timber battens and polished brass fixtures ooze luxe hotel spa, while the central revolve switching between a bedroom and several transitory spaces keeps everything flowing and logically located.

Her costumes communicate character – including Lauren’s colourful dress, which is the subject of a fashion joke that lands perfectly. Briscoe also conjures outrageous bandaging and body “enhancements” that lean into the script’s heavy satire.

Losing Face’s plot is well structured and Cáceres whips it along at pace, so the 105 minutes (no interval) don’t drag. However, every joke that doesn’t land, and there are a lot of them, feels like a wasted opportunity.

Losing Face is at The Sumner, Melbourne, until 25 July.