Holes at The Little Theatre Review
After a plane traveling to Sydney crashes into a desert island in the middle of nowhere, only four survive: three business people and a sixteen year old girl. But someone will find them, right? Or maybe the whole world has fallen making them the last four humans?
Despite the potential end-of-the-world-as-they-know-it, the business people still find time to complain about being late for their conference and to bring office politics into their new island life.
Tom Basden’s play Holes is darkly comic, with properly laugh out loud moments interspersed between deep dives into the extremes of the human psyche. Director Ed Turner successfully balances the humour with these darker moments – an impressive feat for his second directorial outing.
The show is performed in The Little Theatre’s Haywood Studio, which increases the intimacy of the production. As the audience is so up close and personal to the cast, we really get to feel the emotion the actors are pouring into their roles.
The set is simple: some sandy floor and sticks supported by effective lighting (Tim Neville) to give the air of a desert island. The stripped back staging allows for the performances to truly take centre stage, and I found myself drawn into the world of the show by the strong and compelling cast.
Dan Rowberry plays the overconfident Ian, who believes he can do, make, and mend anything by sheer force of will alone. Rowberry captures Ian’s buffoonish nature with charm, whilst allowing the more controlling parts to bubble under the surface.
Gus, played by Thomas Bates, is more of a realist with a tendency towards liquid solutions to problems. Bates shines in this role, showcasing an impressive range, from the sarcastic nay-sayer through to despair. There is one particular scene in which Bates’ performance is utterly captivating in its raw emotion. It is hard to believe this is only Bates’ second show!
Rounding out the business people is Marie, portrayed by Molly Georgina. Marie has an obsession with Ian which is rather inappropriate given she is the HR manager. Georgina revels in this comic role, bigging up the character’s shallowness and sexual frustration. Georgina’s stage presence is wonderful. Watching her swagger around a sandy island in heels whilst trying to impress Ian is a lot of fun.
Phoenix Brooks-Vargas plays Erin, the most down-to-earth of the characters. Brooks-Vargas grounds the play with her measured performance, which allows space for the bigger themes to grow. Erin is the source of much of the show’s emotional weight, and Brooks-Vargas excels in delivering this by gradually evolving the character’s confidence and status throughout.
Holes as a play is built on the relationships between the characters. Bates and Rowberry have strong chemistry, bouncing off each other in their verbal sparring matches. Likewise, Georgina and Rowberry have a fun dynamic that provides ample comic moments. Brooks-Vargas’ Erin has a superbly uneasy dynamic with the three business people as she tries to figure out these strange corporate types.
Overall, Holes at the Little Theatre is a stunning piece of theatre with a stellar cast that succeeds in making you laugh, gasp and think all at the same time.
Photos credit: Jonathan Pryke
