DEATH NEVER BLINKS
BATS Theatre, The Heyday Dome, 1 Kent Tce, Wellington
29/02/2016 - 02/03/2016
NZ Fringe Festival 2016 [reviewing supported by WCC]
Production Details
Wellington, 1953. Local mobsters. Greasy pawnshops. Gambling debts. And literally miles and miles of bunting. What does it mean? Will Dick Mason, Private Detective, solve the case before the case solves him? This Fringe, Kickin’ Rad presents an old timey radio play performed in the dark, recorded live before a studio audience.
Creators/performers Sam Smith and Steven Youngblood were inspired by their shared love of silliness and radio plays to create something for Wellington audiences.
“I was really inspired by A Touch Of Cloth, which is a brilliantly silly spoof of modern detective shows. I wanted to put in as many stupid jokes as I could, and I think I’ve achieved that. I’m really looking forward to sharing it with people who like silliness for the sake of silliness,” says Sam Smith (winner of Best Newcomer NZICF 2014).
For Steven, the love of the genre was a big drawcard.
“I have always loved noir – the dramatic tension, anti-heroes, and the feeling that even when the hero wins, they lose. I’m also very much in love with the idea of radio shows – the Thrilling Adventure Hour is a live radio show that has been my constant companion for the past two years. I am so excited to perform this show with my friends (and Sam) to everybody with a passion for fun (and a more than a little bit of silliness).”
Dick Mason, Private Detective, will be joined by the usual suspects any film noir buff will be familiar with – the femme fatales, the gamblers, the sleazy barkeeps, the pawn shop owners, and mobsters galore, all with a Kiwi twist. What’s also exciting for the performers is that this show is aimed to be entirely accessible to the visually impaired. It will be performed in the dark as an entirely aural experience. In addition, Kickin’ Rad will record each performance, and create a special audio version available to download after the season.
Starring Sam Smith, Steven Youngblood, Jennifer O’Sullivan and Jim Stanton
Kickin’ Rad is a Wellington-based production company with a bent towards shows with heart and hilarity, led by Jennifer O’Sullivan. We present original work, executive produce smaller works, and assist with touring performers from outside of Wellington and New Zealand.
DEATH NEVER BLINKS – WELLINGTON
Dates: 9pm, 28 February – 2 March 2016
Venue: The Dome, BATS Theatre, 1 Kent Terrace
Tickets: $16 Full / $14 Conc / $12 Addict Card
Bookings: Book online at www.bats.co.nz or call 04 802 4175
www.kickinrad.co.nz | www.fringe.co.nz
Theatre ,
Is staging a show in darkness a gimmick?
Review by Shannon Friday 29th Feb 2016
Death Never Blinks takes the “noir” in film noir and turns it up to 11 – or perhaps down to 0 – by being staged in the dark. Rocking up, I thought it would be in total darkness, but actually it is just very dim, with harsh shafts of vertical light to let the actors read their scripts.
There’s an element of challenge for the audience that is missing: instead of having to search out the mystery with our ears, we can chose to rely on both eyes and ears. Which is fine, but then why not turn the lights back up? You know what happens when you put people in a dimly lit room for 90 minutes and tell them not to move? We get sleepy. So very, very sleepy….
Which is a shame, because Death Never Blinks is a fun play. It’s like a radio version of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Alcoholic gumshoe Dick Mason (Steven Youngblood, who also co-wrote with Sam Smith) is hired on a variety of intertwined cases, from bunting theft to murder (dun dun DUN!).
Laced through are so many jokes. They are mostly verbal with some great foley jokes as well (man, I will never look at cabbages the same way again). There’s transition puns, wit, “Don’t call me Shirley” jokes, and some great descriptive metaphors.
The script is full of broad caricatures, which the actors lean into with enthusiastic delight. Youngblood’s Mason is all full of chesty, deadpan reactions. His portrayal of Mason reminds me o Will Arnett’s Batman from The Lego Movie.
Jim Stanton is pure Jessica Rabbit as femme fatale Mrs Loverage, all husky indignation. Jen O’Sullivan’s barkeep, Bar Keep, is among the broadest of broads, and I can’t help but admire Sam Smith’s decision to pinch his nose for the entire show as the hapless Officer Collier.
Is staging a show in darkness a gimmick? Sure, but gimmicks can be fun and lead to some exciting originality. Without the original idea to back it, I do kind of wonder if staging this show in a theatre is the way to go. For all that I enjoyed myself (and I did enjoy myself) I think I would have got just as much out of Death Never Blinks being broadcast on the radio or as a podcast.
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