This is a homage/parody of those old black and white crime thrillers, with the hard nosed detective and evil killers and their bumbling henchmen. All the parts are played by one man and he also does all of the sound effects. The music for the play is one lone guitarist who does an excellent job of providing mood music throughout the show.
Bane is a bad man for a hero. In the first few minutes we see him killing a whole bunch of gangsters as well as a motorcyclist who happens to stop for him. For a detective, he doesn’t seem to be solving any crimes, apart from that of all his friends being killed by a man looking for revenge. There are a number of film references, some more subtle than others, although the Terminator ‘wrong man’ scene does go that very large bit too far, as the bloodbath takes more innocent lives. There is also a little dig at comedians in one scene, but don’t laugh at the jokes or you’ll lose any street cred you may think you have. Finally in the big showdown, will Bane get his man and isn’t it nice to see everything ready for the sequel in next year’s festival.
The actor playing Bruce Bane (and everyone else) does an excellent job with the voicing and mannerisms of each character and it is a non-stop action packed thrill ride through the dark streets of New York in the bad old days. One of the shows to see in the festival this year.
Visit the Fringe website for bookings details.