Walking into shows without any context or idea of what they are going to be about is one of the great joys of Adelaide Fringe, and it’s how to find some of the real gems of the season.

Casual Receptionist of the Quarter presented by Nicole Gulasekharam is one of the shows I stumbled upon with zero clue of what I was in for.

The stage at The Lark at Gluttony features a minimalistic, but effective set with a TV and stool on one side and a reception desk on the other; an empty space in the centre divides the two sets, giving us three separate scenes that we are transported between.

We meet Nic, our warm, friendly, adorable receptionist at a local gym franchise, who we quickly discover is overworked, underpaid, undervalued, but very grateful to be in a job she loves and is good at.

The beginning of the show takes us through typical interactions in a day in the life of someone in customer service. It’s familiar, funny and enjoyable. The audience laughs and nods along with all the relatable stuff and we are carried along with a well-written, tightly scripted production which switches between monologue, sketches and Nicole being filmed for a corporate-style interview to celebrate International Women’s Day.

We are swept up into a comfortable relationship with Nicole as a storyteller: her chronic people pleasing is both endearing (because she’s so loveable), and infuriating (because everyone takes her for granted). We discover Nicole’s passion is playing violin. We learn that she wants to find love. We start to fall in love with her ourselves because she is so kind and vulnerable. We start to hate her bosses. We start to realise she is being treated appallingly by customers but she’s not in any position to do anything about it because she needs to pay her rent.

Suddenly (although it has been gradual and intention by Gulasekharam’s clever writing and highly skilled performance), we are ready to fight for her rights, storm the barricades and stand in solidarity with a lone, casual receptionist.

Nicole represents the customer service Everyman, but she is also what happens when the gaps in society keep getting wider.

Is Casual Receptionist of the Quarter a play? Is it sketch comedy? Is is cabaret? Is it commentary on capitalism, the patriarchy, class structure, and an argument for paying artists a living wage? Yes, it is all of these things. And it’s bloody brilliant.

A show like this is crucial in a time where humans are starting to dehumanise each other and the world is becoming the personification of a comments section on a Facebook post. We are all busier, more stressed, more broke, more stretched and perpetually online. The fact that so many places need signs that say ‘Zero tolerance policy for abuse towards staff’ means that we are forgetting to offer simple acts of compassion and kindness. This show reminds us that we are all just people. And people should treat each other better, especially those on the customer service front line.

Casual Receptionist of the Quarter is intelligent, witty, flawless, and a slow burner – in the best possible way. It is a show in which you can become fully immersed in a story and character development, which still having a laugh and feeling connected to the content.

Five stars

Libby Trainor Parker