THEATRE
At La Mama, until June 1994
Reviewer: Kate Herbert around 7May 1994
This review was published in The Melbourne Times after 7 May 1994
Russell Hoban, in Ridley Walker, created a bastardised English language in keeping with his post nuclear holocaust fictional world. Similarly, in Last Chance Gas, Steve Taylor & Kevin Dinsley have fabricated a garble which is both poetic and comprehensible.
Jim Daly plays the extraordinary proprietor (Priata) of the last gas stop on a long road. Hapless customers must "do" for him: entertain him in order to obtain "juice". Their antics are wild and almost vaudevillian as they tap dance, sing, perform feats of magic and gymnastics. If he is not pleased he blithely slaughters them.
This piece exaggerates our modern obsession with petrol. The customers writhe in orgasmic delight as Priatsa, rather grossly, "pees" the juice into their ears. Really.
Daly is exceptional as Priata. He is hilarious, making the language and action credible, and he is well supported by a physically adept Thomas Wright as Ferul, his slavish doggie.
Rosalie Zycher's direction is very physical, vigorous and challenging but the rest of the cast struggle with text, character and concept. The production is violent, funny and exciting at times but, by the end, the idea that "the world is fucked" palls and we want something more in the narrative.
by Kate Herbert
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