A packed opening night audience of friends, families, the curious and the supportive, warmly embrace The Basement’s Auckland season of Young and Hungry 2013. 

The accessible Dragonlore, by Nic Sampson and directed by Curtis Vowell, is followed by the heavy burdens explored in Atlas /Mountains /Dead Butterflies (see separate review) by Joseph Harper and co-directed by Amelia Reid and Shadon Meredith. They could not be more contrasting in style, direction, delivery and presentation.

Sampson’s bittersweet comedy is set in two dimensions. In the real world, his script is conversational yet slightly uneven in terms of believability. However, as he throws his audience into the wonderful world of LARP-ing (Live-Action-Role-Play > check it out online), the language is fantastic and engaging, riddled with fab phrases and quips, such as, “You tartan upstart!”

To LARP is to immerse yourself into an alternative reality, create a character such as a wizard, goblin or cat-women, then go on a pre-set quest, such as a fight to the ‘death’, for the honour and glory of conquest. However, in the case of this group of misfits and friends, their LARPing days may be numbered, because one among them, has broken the LARP-ring rules and been blocked. This unthinkable doom must be avoided at all costs. 

Sampson’s characters are easy to recognise. Nerdy Alan, played by Todd Waters, is uptight and nervous in the real world, especially with girls, yet confident and commanding as Wizard Waldorf. His younger, cooler sibling Frank (Jarred Blakiston) looks like he will remain a non-participator, but a developing self-awareness leads to inclusion and immersion into the game.

Stream of consciousness, motor mouth, ditzy and low status Dena, played by Holly Hudson, is enjoyable and entertaining, in both realities. Chris, a shock-jock in the real world, feels clichéd and an unlikely alpha male acquaintance of this peer group, but Liam Hughes makes him as likable as possible, when in LARP-green-goblin-mode.

Daley Winterstein clearly enjoys playing the pompous ‘Phoenix’, and relishes wonderful phrases such as, “How comely you look, now that your facial afflictions have diminished.” However, I feel I never really got to know his real identity – Jack. Robert the farm hand – a star performance by Brittany Low, complete with butt crack, swagger and a scowl, as well as great lines such as “I’m not going to feed your horses because they don’t exist” – later transforms into someone quite different.  

Some in the cast lack clear diction and delivery. While I could hear every word from Winterstein and Low, others need to work on basic strength and consistent connection. Is Chris’ LARP character called “Grin, Green, Gren or Grim”? And is Jack’s alter ego “Sophinnix or Sir Phoenix”? Is Loren’s Syntax or Sinthax?

In terms of the cast dynamic, director Curtis Vowel could have brought all performances in the real world down by 200%, to create more believability and a better contrast from the world of LARP-ing. Too often, real moments are missed, plus true emotions and reactions are not given space to breathe. 

On the whole, the production elements and creatives (the same for both plays), under the guidance of production manager Stacey Donaldson (with assistant Stuart Timmons) and stage manager Alice Kirker mentored by Fiona Ryan, are smoothly executed.

Set design mentor Andrew Foster nurtures well his team of three (Nur Izzati Khairuddin, Vianney Vincent and Kenah Trusewich), creating a credible farm setting of hay bales, fencing and grass. The cast inventively double the sparse props, such as a bucket, for a steering wheel.

Similarly, Costume Design Mentor Charlie Baptist and her mentees, Wan Noor Farah, Wan Shamsuddin and Laura Mauchline, do so much with so little: hessian sacks, green body paint and slippers are all that’s needed to bring some characters to life. Others, such as the cat woman ‘Melodrama’, or the bow and arrow wheeling ‘Syntax’, look stunning.

Horse construction by Ben Anderson, is comical. I nicknamed her “black gaffa”. But it’s the dragon’s entrance that takes top prize in terms of creature cameos. Lighting design and operator mentees Riley Mooney and Tyler Preece – mentored by Peter Davison – do well, and sound design by Marshall Smith is well pitched.

Sampson effectively shows how the façade of role-play helps would be awkward teenage interaction become (ironically) more real and honest. His script also successfully explores how far some will go, in terms of lies and deceit, to be included. His messaging on evolving interaction through role-play, rather than alcohol and electronic devices, is subtle and avoids being heavy-handed.

However, I am left gobsmacked at Sampson’s flippant descriptions of Alan’s ‘relationship’ with his Chinese girlfriend. Finally, ‘A Thousand Miles’ by Vanessa Carlton is a great song, but seems a light way to end… almost Glee meets Pitch Perfect, rather than Young and Hungry. But perhaps that is the point?

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