The unceasing beast that is the 24/7 news cycle can mean that even the most cataclysmic of global conflagrations gradually slip away from the nightly news. It’s sort of unusual, then, that the Western world’s gaze is still firmly fixed on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Not all stories receive the same attention – not even those involving Putin.
How we view global crises varies in mileage, depending on who is at risk and how much we ‘identify’ with the victims. While there was some international outcry when the leaders of the Chechen Republic – part of the Russian Federation – instigated a brutal purge of LGBTIQIA+ citizens, the outrage was nowhere near as sustained as what we’re seeing now.
A direct response to the horrific Chechen crisis, Australian Open playwright Angus Cameron’s fascinating two-hander Dirt, now playing at Chapel off Chapel, digs deep into the idea of what we choose to see overseas and how we respond.
Real-life couple and fellow writers Patrick Livesey (Gone Girls) and Why Are You Like This star Wil King, play Moscow-based tour guide Kolya and Australian tourist Connor. While Connor makes mention of a girlfriend, there’s no hiding the undeniable chemistry between the pair, with close to the bone questions about what it’s like to be queer in Russia spiralling into a sharp-tongued debate that also raises Australia’s blemished record on human rights transgressions.
Neither man is being entirely honest with the other. It pays not to say too much more about what unfolds between them, other than that their slipping masks spark an intriguing war of words. It’s fascinating to watch them tiptoe around one another in a cat and mouse-like game over the course of one drink and drug-fuelled night. Ably conjured with minimal staging, Matt Ralph’s neon-hued night-lighting design, and a pounding techno beat from MzRizk, are effective. Dancing from the street to a bar, to an illegal rave and on, inexorably, towards a bedroom showdown, this fleeting affair to remember isn’t simply a complicated queer meet cute a la Andrew Haigh movie Weekend.
It also has one eye on how we respond to international injustice. Even when we do look, when we care, Cameron prompts us to consider what (if any) impact heartfelt but passive solidarity has from a distance in this age of doom-scrolling. He also probes the fine line between wanting to help on the ground and taking a good, hard look at why someone might insert themselves into overseas conflict. What are their true motives for telling someone else’s story? The play teases out the knots of how we can respond in confused and even condescending ways.
An ambitious work, while it may not always layer in the necessary nuance, it’s never anything less than gripping as it evolves into something of an erotic thriller. Tightly directed by Bronwen Coleman (From Here to Maternity) and weighing in at under an hour, it’s a snappy tete-a-tete that bristles muscularly. Delivering an intensely physical performance, Livesey is particularly impressive, holding tight onto a presumably difficult Russian accent that remains convincing even when the script calls for Kolya to explosively lose his cool at Connor’s unceasing questioning. King’s grip on the material isn’t quite as sound, particularly when the sands shift between them, but still delivers a commendable performance.
The brevity of the show helps carry it over the line. As you spill out onto the street, Dirt will see you on your way with much to mull, traversing muddy terrain with no clear answers. And that is the sign of exciting theatre.
