Performance: Little Che

By SUSAN BUDD

SILO THEATRE, Auckland - The great revolutionary icon of our time, Che Guevara, was young once, and presumably as naive and self-interested as are most young men.

Writer Paolo Rotondo and actor Taika Cohen have also recreated him as a crazy charmer who, like another symbol of rebellion, James Dean, roars on a motorbike and whose imagination soars like an eagle.

Little Che never treats its hallowed subject with respect, but plays with the notion of two young guys hitting the South American roads in search of fun and adventure.

Rotondo and Cohen are a fantastic double act. With enormous energy and incredible inventiveness they slip into instant, hilarious characterisations in this picaresque tale. A pompous father, a macho merchant, a simpering nun and even the tenderly humorous evocation of a dying girl are beautifully and economically performed.

Their performances are highly physical, but their verbal dexterity is equally impressive.

The comedy is anarchic, even surreal at times, and very, very funny. Jokes travel at the speed of light and the actors' portrayal of great, loving and reasonably tolerant friendship is totally convincing.

Rotondo plays the straight man, older than medical student Che, and already a qualified doctor. Apart from a tendency to trigger-happiness with a silver revolver, he is a relatively solid and reliable character.

Rotondo puts his round, dark eyes to good use when playing women, widening them winsomely in shyness or shock.

Cohen has a deliciously comic Latino accent, long, gangling limbs and the terrific timing that comes from years of performing comedy. His intelligence and a certain ironic distance give his playing an edge. But the most impressive factor in the performances is how well they mesh.

Andrew Foster's production tightly controls the multitude of short scenes and the lunatic elements of the script, while allowing the comedy full rein.

The pace rarely falters from just under a mad gallop, but maintains strict clarity.

Little Che is witty, original and enormously entertaining. And - a great plus - it never takes itself terribly seriously.