ROAM at Red Stitch Actors Theatre

ROAM at Red Stitch Actors Theatre

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Posted 2013-10-18 by Elizabeth Quinnfollow

Thu 10 Oct 2013 - Sat 09 Nov 2013


Red Stitch's latest production takes its audience into a parallel universe where ordinary mortals can realise their full potential as fearless warriors who rape, pillage and plunder - and still get home in time to put out the bins.

Our 'hero' Johnny, played by Tim Potter, is an unemployed computer nerd suffering from Vitamin D deficiency and a personality bypass. He has a nasty internet porn habit that morphs into an obsession with a computer game called 'Roam'. His alter ego, Johnnias Maximus, is a Roman general with a six-pack and an eye for the ladies.

Enter Young Girl (an authentic Ngaire Dawn Fair), a keen player of the game who is not above using her feminine wiles to advance the fortunes of her avatar by persuading other (male) players to buy things for her. It appears that computer games encourage grown men to a) make fools of themselves and b) use their credit cards to impress the objects of their affection. Imagine that…

Johnny's beleaguered partner-in-life Julia (played by Ella Caldwell) inevitably becomes suspicious of the time he spends online and his increasing credit card debt. Like any self-respecting spurned lover, she breaks into his computer and finds herself falling into the nether regions of cyberspace Roman Empire-style.

And it is this parallel universe of the online gamer that is the star of this production. The grid-like lighting on the sparse interior creates the sensation that the action is taking place on a computer screen. Playwright Adam Cass has created an alternative universe in which the audience members become participants. Whoever was responsible for stage direction deserves hearty congratulations – and a slap on the wrist for not making any announcement (as far as Weekend Notes was aware) of the use of strobe lighting. The MA 15 rating warns the viewer of strong content, classifiable sex scenes and computer generated images that are 'strong in impact', but a specific strobe warning should be added.

That minor quibble aside, the audience at any Red Stitch production can count on two things: firstly that the versatility of its members means that this week's male lead will likely be next week's barman. And secondly that the lack of performance space serves to enhance rather than limit the quality of every production. Ingenuity and emotional investment are key factors in any Red Stitch production, and nowhere is this more evident than in Roam.

When in Roam…

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!date 10/10/2013 -- 09/11/2013
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150912 - 2023-06-14 04:48:59

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