Theatre
By The Blue Room Theatre Summer Nights & Jeffcattprodco.
The Blue Room Theatre Studio
23rd January 2016
Review by Jasmine Seabrook-Benson
As the audience enters a darkened theatre through a narrow hall, they pass by a man. He appears somewhat worn — tired and a touch dishevelled — standing with a hunch by the wall. He is not there to greet or chat. He’s just there. He’s Fred.
Soothing acoustic guitar wafts out of the open theatre as people find their seats. It’s there that you meet the second man. Tank sits peacefully with his radio by his foot and a bottle in his hand. There is a third man, and his name is Terry, but you meet him later.
The show truly begins when the music stops.
Hobo, writer-director James Taylor’s high energy debut, is a thoroughly compelling and occasionally very amusing piece of theatre. Chris Bell, James Hagen, and Maitland Schnaars may be the actors, but they’re so convincing that you’ll only ever see Fred, Tank, and Terry.
The core of the show depicts people struggling to be heard, whether that’s due to their own poor choices, or because of their race or sexuality. Each has their own tormentor, and they all connect as their stories weave together.
The story, as well as the character’s places within it, appears to be unclear at first. It’s tempting to consider it a flaw in either writing or delivery, however, following the performance, I was struck by the realisation that this was Taylor’s full intention.
In those early moments, when I questioned the sudden and slightly disjointed elements, I was already enthralled, and it seemed that the entire audience on this particular night was also entranced. Every person fascinated, observing every movement, every mumbled word, every booming declaration, and every thought.
The depiction of poverty, desperation, psychological struggles, and connection within this piece is powerful. The voices of those not often heard ring out, they reverberate, they sing, they question. The voices of those not often heard can be the voice of one.
Hobo runs from January 23-25 at The Blue Room Theatre Studio on James Street, Northbridge. Tickets available here.
