Theatre Review: Alfonsina at Musgrove Studio, Maidment

Although "Lab:Research" - the production company's name - suggests experimental work, Alfonsina is gossamer-thin, mildly amusing slapstick, centring on an Argentine cleaner's adventures in Auckland.

Our eponymous heroine is sweet and folksy with a naif enthusiasm. With her long plait, and flowery blouse tucked into her high-wasted jeans, Andrea Ariel plays Alfonsina as the innocent abroad; the childlike, colourful foreigner with enormous gestures, expressive mannerisms and a cute accent.

She starts work with her helpful neighbour Hera (Katie Burson), whose boss, Tracy (Genevieve Cohen), has a thing for stain remover.

Directed by Unitec lecturer Pedro Ilgenfritz, all three actors do this type of devised comedy well.

Their gestures are sharply defined and larger-than-life, their characterisations are spot-on. Repetition is exaggerated - actors turn and nod in tandem; they stick as close to each other as shadows. The only large prop is a cumbersome grey cube.

Offstage Cohen plays whimsical incidental music on the guitar. Her voice - briefly heard - is beautiful.

The timing is just right - until the "serious" bit when heavy fade-outs slow things down. For Alfonsina gets mixed up with the criminal underworld - represented by someone hiding in a hoodie.

The story turns to drama, but is still very thin on detail. It's hard to see what the moral is: don't give foreigners your life savings? Don't ask strangers for fake work visas? Illegal immigrants - gasp - can get into trouble?

When it has depth, tragicomedy can cut through its own laughs with a shock punch. But when a light-hearted, fluffy comedy changes gear with a bunny hop, to tug at the heart strings, it's like biting into a marshmallow only to find mushy peas.

Alfonsina is the latest play to fall into this trap for young players. But at only $18 a ticket, it's fun to go and imagine how it could have jumped over lightly.