Concrete Playground

The desert is a strange, lonely place. Cacti advance. A cat
copulates with a coyote. Out there you have too much time to think. Anything is
possible. As is nothing.

Acclaimed playwright Jose` Rivera (The Motorcycle Diaries), creates a double world in References to
Salvador Dali Make Me Hot. One is a dream, the other is real. Although
it isn't entirely clear which is which.

Gabriela (played with gusto by Olivia Stambouliah) – an army
wife suffering from a desert relocation – stares at the moon and contemplates
her husband’s (Stephen Multari) impending return. Wooed by both the moon (Lani
John Tupu) and a boy-lover (Arka Das), Gabriela is a woman at sea (but in the
desert, if you catch my meaning).

Surreally poetic opening and closing scenes flank two
relatively straightforward husband and wife in turmoil scenes. It’s an
interesting juxtaposition. The cast breathe life into the first and last and
it’s exciting to watch. In the centre two, however, the production dips
slightly into sentimentality. Where the play changes pace, the production loses
momentum and the scenes don’t have the poignancy they might.

Nonetheless, References
to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot has a strong cast and script and the production design heightens the sense of
both the real and the surreal. With a few more runs they may just nail it.


We have two double passes to giveaway for References
to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot on Tuesday October 6. Just email your details to winners@griffintheatre.com.au wth "Concrete Playground Salvador Giveaway" in the subject line for your chance to win.