DIRT

Review by Margaret von Klemperer of production at Hilton Festival 2010. (Courtesy of The Witness)

Written by Nick Warren, this one-hander with James Cairns is a little comedy gem – a real festival piece. Cairns takes the roles of three friends (and a few peripheral characters) as they set off for the funeral of Gerry, the fourth member of their poker school who has died in Cape Town. Wayne is a squeaky-voiced loser who has been looking after Gerry’s ancient dog, Tom, and can’t quite get his head round Tom’s insanitary habits; Grant is a new father with a depressed wife and colicky baby; Sam is a soapie star with delusions of grandeur. This ill-assorted crew set off down the N1 to the funeral, with predictably disastrous results.

Cairns’ strength is that never does the audience doubt which of the group they are watching. And although small props are used to signal a change of scene, the actor only has his voice and mannerisms to differentiate the characters, and, make no mistake, they are so different that the road trip is going to be a disaster. The piece is sometimes crude, but is always funny – often very funny indeed. - Margaret von Klemperer