As usual, the Studio at BATS is hot. The 40 seater is about half full. Centre stage are five chairs arranged in a chevron pointing to the audience. Behind them a white sheet is hanging, providing cover for a back stage space.

Tiaki Sharp emerges from behind the screen as his first character, nicknamed Ikaiti – small fish. He is our protagonist: a young man with his own truck who is going places. It is 1940s Wellington. Ikaiti is working for some pretty shady characters, feeling very much like a small fish in a big pond. So he is willing to work strange jobs, no questions asked, in order to cement his place in the city.

As the action unfolds, Ikaiti’s openness to illegal activity is challenged as the activity changes from smuggling to assassination. This is a step too far. His struggle to extricate himself and save the intended victims takes him to the brink of exile or death.

Sharp’s one-man show encompasses six main characters. Initial costume changes happen behind the screen, while he continues his dialogue. Later when he switches back to the main character he removes the costumes on stage and places them on designated centre stage chairs. One character has one leg and a crutch. Another is five foot tall so Sharp plays him on his knees. This makes the physical work strenuous as he portrays dialogues between two characters, but he is well-rehearsed and the transitions are smooth and speedy.

Also key to these transitions are the voices and accents. He struggles with the American accent of one of the characters, which sounds English a lot of the time. His local Māori characters also have English accent undercurrents, so this may be a part of Sharp’s natural accent. This is a trivial distraction though. The voices are recognisable, including four distinct variations of Māori accents for the four local Māori characters: Ikaiti, The Pirate – a hospitality mogul with a murky past, Whaea Putiputi – the trans owner of a gay speakeasy, and Ruru – a Tūhoe assassin.

The style is essentially noir, with some melodrama and humour – especially in the scenes in the gay nightclub. Whaea Putiputi does some crowd work, calling for examples of personal problems. The alacrity of Putiputi’s responses suggest there are a couple of plants in the audience, but others seem genuinely spontaneous and Sharp is up to the task of ad-libbing witty responses.

Parts of the script are well-researched for historic accuracy – such as the descriptions of firearms and vehicles. However, some language is perhaps not as authentic – describing someone as ‘homosexual’ when a slang term would have been more likely, referring to the ‘New Zealand Wars’ rather than the ‘Māori Land Wars’ as they were known at the time.

But these are also trivial distractions; not at all relevant to the story. The script is funny despite the noir feel. The motivation of some of the characters is unusual, such as an underworld assassin, who was a follower of ‘rebel’ Rua Kēnana, being morally opposed to assassinating Pākehā politicians. However, the dialogue is natural. Sharp’s delivery is clear and his projection is impressive, especially when changing costumes behind the screen. There is some minor mis-timing of sound effects, especially the rapid gunshots, but it is a very good first performance for the crew overall.

Tiaki Sharp has delivered an impressive opening night of a work he has been developing for several years. He has conceived original variants of archetypal characters, the local nuances of which are very recognisable to New Zealand audiences. His acting is highly-skilled and energised, and his improv is intelligent and quick-witted. We can be sure of many more good nights out as his career progresses.

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