FRINGEWORLD: Hobo (3.5 stars)

by

Review by Elli Gemmo.

Walking into the completely sold Blue Room Theatre for Hobo the atmosphere created by the cast of three actors is immediately engaging. As you make your way inside and take your seat there is an acustic guitar playing in a corner and what looks instantly like a peculiar character sitting in the middle of the stage, staring at the audience.

The play is a captivating drama about the positive and negative sides of being homeless. There is a good mix of humor and drama whilst the two main characters, Tank and Fred, share their drinks and stories. Both of them give us hints about their problems and what brought them to the street. Both are willing to share the few things they own, especially Tank who rescued Fred when he first make his apperance on stage. Tank is generous and an alcoholic, Fred is an alcoholic as well, but greedy and stubborn. Their friendship becomes their home although the differences between them will soon have an influence on the story. Everything happens around this spot on the street that the two vagabonds has begun to call home.

Suddenly the atmosphere changes and the play has an unexpected detour, focusing on one of the main characters –  jeopardising our view and feeling about what the play has been showing previously. It’s an unpredictable ending that leaves us feeling incomplete, a lot of questions about the past, present and future remain unanswered and you feel like the story telling should have kept going. One is hungry for solutions.

Yet, this is what a good play should do: let your mind fill in the gaps and make you think about the message underneath the main plot.

 

When: Sunday 24th and Monday 25th January (9:00pm)

Where: The Blue Room Theatre, Perth Cultural Centre

Tickets: $26 standard, $11 rush tix available

Info: Duration 40mins, recommended 15+

Links: 

Fringeworld: https://fringeworld.com.au/program/event/e6d394af-8700-45ff-9556-cd5fabcbb938/

Blue Room: http://blueroom.org.au/events/hobo/