We are in a meeting hall and can almost smell the timber panelling, but for the likelihood of veneer. Faux wood concertina doors and an overcrowded pin board suggest the décor was last updated decades ago.

Ashton Malcolm and James Smith in State Theatre Company South Australia’s Euphoria. Photo © Chris Herzfeld, Camlight Productions

Any preconceived notions from the title of the play that we are in for a joyous bucolic yarn are quickly dispelled when we meet Meg (Ashton Malcolm). She welcomes us to a meeting and we are immediately drawn into her hectic world by her abundance of energy and positivity.

We are wary of Meg’s enthusiasm, as is her former student Ethan (James Smith) who would rather be anywhere else than at the meeting. He slinks into his hoodie at the first opportunity. It is around these two characters that Euphoria orbits with a cast of oddball and instantly recognisable locals all nimbly played by the virtuosic Malcom and Smith.

Themes common to every small community form the framework on which playwright Emily Steel builds the compelling story. With parochial attitudes, the bush telegraph and the meat tray raffle, Steel’s perfectly paced script...