KEY POINTS:
The Indian Ink theatre company has changed its recipe so fans expecting the latest production to be a sweet, soulful curry of a show will instead be surprised by a swampy, macabre gumbo.
The Dentist Chair (SkyCity Theatre until September 27) is the company's fourth show and is very different from those which have gone before. It's an ensemble piece with normally solo actor Jacob Rajan being joined by three other actors and two musicians. The masks are gone and so are the infusions of Indian culture which offered a rich extra element to the shows.
Instead, Rajan and co-founder Justin Lewis have gone all American gothic, with The Dentist Chair combining quirky, almost grotesque, characters with themes of death, sex and religion, a dash of comedy, set to a soundtrack of Appalachian folk and blues music.
There has always been a bitter-sweet element to Indian Ink shows as the pursuit of the "serious laugh" is a key objective of the company but this show is darker and stranger than previous works. If it wasn't their fourth show it would be tempting to compare it to the "difficult second album" of a popular band. It's certainly a rambling affair with a first act that is too long and tries to fit in too many elements. But the second act is worth waiting for and recaptures all of the bitter-sweet magic you expect from an Indian Ink show.
The opening-night performances were enjoyable but missing an extra sparkle. Jacob Rajan gives a confident performance as conflicted dentist Albert but I wanted some more pathos. Peta Rutter was both spiky and vulnerable as his misunderstood wife and Mia Blake was enjoyable as the orthodontically disadvantaged woman who wants dentist Albert for herself.
Gareth Williams is suitably cadaver scary as William Kemmler, the ghost of the first man to be executed by electric chair who haunts Albert. He gives a charismatic performance that includes two ghoulish songs which were marred by muddy vocals on opening night.
John Verryt's set is a simple pair of doors, a shelf of specimen jars and of course a suitably Victorian dentist's chair. Although relatively sparse, it creates a dusty gothic feel in keeping with the tone of the piece.
The design also features a clever rain effect, with a backdrop that drips with real water. On opening night you couldn't see the rain under the bright lights.
Lighting designer Jeremy Fern creates some lovely scenes but at times I felt his creative ideas needed to be better executed to capture a truly perfect moment.
As a departure from the tried and true, The Dentist's Chair may be more of an acquired taste for Indian Ink fans. While I'm not sure they got the recipe quite right this time, I enjoyed the show's smokier flavour and am keen to sample whatever they cook up next time.
