When a fellow kiwi invited me to see something by Duncan Sarkies (director of Scarfies) at the Barbican I obviously wasn’t paying close enough attention, because I thought I was going to see a film. I continued to think this right up until the point where we settled ourselves in chairs in the The Pit which looked very like a small theatre rather than a cinema. Although it did have a screen at the back, it also had quite a lot of musical and technical kit at the front.
Strange for a film, I thought, and leaned over to ask if the film perhaps had a live soundtrack? It was in fact a play consisting of a mixed media presentation with voiceover type monologues. Despite the lack of conventionality (I like my plays to be plays – you know; actors, dialogue, movement etc), I really enjoyed it and came away feeling slightly homesick for what I sometimes forget is a quite unique point of view. New Zealand humour tends to be very deadpan and in places very dark.
I think we went to the last night, so thats gone now, but if you happen to see it advertised somewhere in Australasia – I recommend you go see it – its a laugh innit.
