Tape - Redmond Barry Theatre Company

Tape, written by Stephen Belber, is apparently a film, directed by Richard Linklater in 2001. Having never seen it, I took my seat in the back room of the Wine Cellar with no idea what I was in for, but I had a good feeling. The Wine Cellar is one of my favourite bars and venues in Auckland, with a really cosy, slightly haphazard, living room atmosphere. The small audience, around thirty of us, were packed onto couches and cushions watching Vince (Paul MacDiarmind) prowl around his motel room full of empty beer cans and drugs, waiting for old high school friend Jon (Devlin Bishop) to show up. When he does, the reunion quickly goes from matey to aggressive as Vince confronts Jon about his encounter with Amy (Romy Hooper) back in high school, ten years ago. He claims Jon raped her, and manages to elicit a confession from him, before announcing that Amy will be joining them for dinner. The three of them discuss what happened, resulting in confusion, anger and, we hope, closure.
Produced by new Redmond Barry Theatre Company, and directed by Hooper herself, this short production was a wild success. The three actors managed to convey very real human emotion, creating palpable fear, anger and intense awkwardness in the audience, helped along by the well chosen intimate set up. The space, of which there wasn't a lot, was used beautifully as the actors stormed in and out, paced, shouted and grappled on and around the sagging bed in the middle of the stage. The play was saved from being too heavy handed by the thread of dark humour running through it, particularly courtesy of MacDiarmind who maintained a wicked grin throughout.
Reaction from the audience was very positive, I heard only commendation around the bar, with many audience members staying to have a drink with actors and producers after the show.
I definitely recommend seeing this while it's on, every night at 8.30 until Saturday when there's an extra showing at midnight. The Wine Cellar, St Kevin's Arcade, K' Road. Visit their Facebook page and tag yourself in one of the pictures to get a ticket for only $10.