TRIFFIC Travel is the latest site-specific comedy from the popular Café Demant company. This is the best of the company’s work, with Sam Fisher’s script incorporating enjoyable twists and turns in the story complete with some gentle political and media satire.

The opening sequence of safety warnings for the audience gets the show off to a great start, as travel agents Sharilynne (a very driven Pip O’Connell), Mandy (an outrageously wigged Bev Driscoll) and Roger (an edgy Rodney Bane) try to make a living in an increasingly difficult career. Enter Matty, the cleaner (a Karmic Brianne Kerr) and things really take off.

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Having written a number of site specific plays in various venues like offices and café for previous Fringe Festivals, playwright Sam Fisher now turns his attention to the travel industry.  Set in a travel agency along The Terrace, Triffic Travel recounts the last hour of a days work for 3 agents and their cleaner. 

While in previous plays Fisher has been light on plot and heavy on action he has reversed the trend somewhat with this play by having an underlying air of mystery and intrigue running through the story.

Sharilynne (Pip O’Çonnell) is getting stressed out furiously trying to get her sales target up before 5 o’clock in order to reach the deadline for a bonus – it’s the only way she can make money since Air NZ cut agents commission.  Mandy (Bev Driscoll) her loud mouth co-worker is no help as all she does is loll around reading women’s magazines and going outside for a smoke.  When Roger (Rodney Bane) the Wellington boss of the agency returns trying to make them all go home, including Matty (Brianne Kerr) the cleaner, suspicions are aroused and the tension mounts.

This is when the action hot’s up and the four competent, well cast actors pull out all the stops to keep the pace and mayhem going without losing the essence of the play.  When Roger’s connivance becomes apparent it seems all is revealed but then the ending has a twist in its tail that makes this a most enjoyable Fringe theatre production. 

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