Theatre review: Blowing it

Silo Theatre
Review: Stuart Young


The one-person show is enjoying a remarkable revival and re-invention. In the late 70s the genre tended to celebrate rather too stodgily the story of a particular, often historical, individual, but now it has acquired greater narrative vitality and become a vehicle for actors to display their virtuosity in creating a medley of characters.

In the wake of Krishnan's Dairy and No. 2 comes Blowing It, written by Stephen Sinclair, who also directs, and Stephen Papps. Its inspiration is the scenario of police assigned to undercover drugs work who become "operations casualties."

Rather tritely, the play indicates the obvious folly of a strategy which fails to trap the real villains, and it elicits sympathy for the stooge cop, in this case PC Mike Fahey. However, the life of the piece lies in the gusto of Papps' performance, in which he switches deftly between such characters as petty crim Titch, big-time dealer Weasel, Mike's superior, Wilson, and solo mum Cheryl.

Such characters provide the cue for a series of bravura comic turns: Cheryl and Sam having sex, Jimi Hendrix playing in Weasel's Valiant, the death throes of a rottweiler, and a clever variation on a racing commentary. Meanwhile, Papps also powerfully conveys Mike's growing paranoia and fear as the story unfolds.

Papps' costume - black stovepipe jeans, tattered leather jacket and threadbare singlet - and his shaven head establish a clear sense of continuity between the roles of undercover cop and criminals. In particular the strong image gives needed emphasis to the most interesting relationship in the play, that between Mike and the pathetic Titch.

The rawness and energy of Papps' performance could have been matched by a richer delineation of character and relationships. The play's reticence in exploring beneath stereotypes denies it the dramatic texture and emotional richness of Nga Pou Wahine, Krishnan's Dairy and No. 2.

Nevertheless, there's still more colour and vitality in both the writing and the performance of the secondary characters in Blowing It than in the gallery of minor roles in Death of a Salesman at the Maidment.