"A voice in the dark speaks of a crepuscular world, one in economic and ecological crisis. On a laneway wall an image of Michelangelo's Hand of God burns out; over exposed, any chance at salvation has become a 30 second grab of melting celluloid. 4 anonymous characters engage one another in the endless repetitions of The Deal. Drugs and money, love, sex and the technofetish... You want it, then baby it's for sale. A shot rings out... then another... A cock crows and somewhere in the wilderness a wild dog howls. Lost inside the mountain a young man searches for his disintegrating self while a mother mourns the loss of her abandoned child. Whatever you desire... DIRTY PICTURES is multimedia performance of the streetwise kind. You will know what it's like to lose everything. Somehow, you will find the strength to move on... "
Reck's previous plays include The Great Divide, The Tar Machine, and The Antechamber. He is an unflinchingly honest writer-director, one unperturbed by demonstrating in the theatre the less savoury side of existence; as well as the human capacity for forgiveness and the trauma of lost love.
"The Great Divide & The Tar Machine have few parallels in Australian theatre today..." Jonathan Marshall, InPress.
"The best of times and the worst of times..." Ralph McLean, 3RRR
"Some very good in writing in The Great Divide, and some lovely performances..." Geoffrey Milne - 774 ABC Melbourne
"Whatever you do don't eat the chicken... " Melynda Woodward, Artshub
"An uncannily rendered Aussie noir netherworld..." John Bailey, RealTime
Dirty Pictures promises to be a bold and uncompromising night in the theatre.
DIRTY PICTURES, a retrun season of a new play by Tony Reck
April 22 - May 6, 2012, Collingwood Underground Theatre, 44 Harmsworth St. Collingwood, 8.00 pm
MAN 1 is 18-35 years of age. He fancies himself as a bit of a high-flyer but is addicted to amphetamine. He likes to mix & match it with the heavies and consequently, finds himself completely out of his depth; particularly in relation to his drug dealer. His relationship with WOMAN 1 is characterised by dependence. MAN 1 is dependent upon WOMAN 2 for love, drugs, motherly affection, and sometimes, whatever his amphetamine-driven fantasies desire. He hates every minute of this, and himself. But he is so tempted by the criminal world that he cannot prevent his inevitable descent into an underworld of futility and emotional despair. Above all, MAN 1 is a survivor in an unforgiving world. He will do whatever he has to do to ensure that when the smoke has cleared, he is still standing. Obsessed, addicted, damaged and amoral he is nevertheless driven by a sense of moral servitude that is at once admirable, yet also, the height of hypocrisy. In this sense, MAN 1 is a character of our time.
WOMAN 1 is intimate with MAN 1. She has 2 children from a previous relationship and hopes her new man will provide the necessary stability for her to resume visiting her kids. Consequently, her expectations for this relationship only serve to alienate MAN 1. Aware of his drug problem but unaware he is seeing WOMAN 2, WOMAN 1 herself begins experimenting with drugs. She does this in the mistaken assumption that this will allow her to find common ground with MAN 1. Of course, she ends up addicted as well. She has found common ground with her new man but in doing so, has lost any chance of seeing her 2 children once again. Addicted, she immerses herself in the world of sexual promiscuity and 'The Deal' The anger and sorrow this experience causes her prompts repeated overdoses. But she is comforted by the fact that MAN 1 is always there to save her. At first believing that she will one day win MAN 1 back from the criminal world he inhabits, she slowly understands that he is a lost cause. If WOMAN 2 is to save herself and stabilise her relationship with her much loved children, she must crack her dependence on dope, and the unfortunate man she loves. The question is: will pursuing a lost cause into the criminal underworld result in herself becoming a lost cause as well? Unlike the other characters that inhabit her world. WOMAN 1 has the capacity to see beyond into a life well-lived. When all is said and done, WOMAN 1 rises above her circumstances and stands independent and alone.
WOMAN 2 is a prostitute who is addicted to amphetamine. Life on the street has hardened her resolve but she refuses to submit completely to a world that is cold, heartless and revolves around 'The Deal'. Her daily routine consists of administering drugs, meeting her dealer MAN 2, and working the beat. She believes that man 2 is the man for her. He acts as her pimp and provides protection. He supplies her with drugs to ease emotional pain and, she believes, he sometimes even loves her. Even so, WOMAN 2 hates MAN 2 with such a passion that she will deceive and manipulate him, rip him off, and when necessary, utilise her sexual relationship with MAN 1 to manipulate MAN 2's pathological need for power. This is a classic example of 'Bad Love' WOMAN 2 only feels wanted when she is being brutalised. Intergenerational in its emotional trajectory she nevertheless understands that there must be a better way. But she is so entrapped within a pattern of physical, emotional and self-abuse that she finds it impossible to escape this cycle of despair. Suicide by overdose constantly beckons but if she did initiate her own death, (she thinks), who would be there to look after, and torment, her drug dealing nemesis, MAN 2?
MAN 2 is 30-55 years of age and a drug dealer with psychopathic tendencies. Tormented by feelings of disempowerment he seeks to tyrannise others via the medium of drugs. His attitude toward his 'business' masks an insatiable desire for affection and intimacy. In his attempt to make others dependent upon his drug dealing he inadvertently becomes dependent upon them for a love that cannot be fulfilled. His response is one of violent eroticism. MAN 2 will take whatever he feels that he can't have. A drug dealer so tormented by his own actions that he seeks to sedate himself with his own product, MAN 2 and his psychopathy is heightened by the on-set of amphetamine psychosis. Powerless and off the leash in a world that demands conformity to strict protocols, his extreme consumerism is a reflection of a precarious balance that characterises today's corporate world; that of the relationship between a desire for economic power and its fulfillment via military means. Isolated and alone, MAN 2 will do whatever it takes to fulfill his seriously demented dreams.
If you would like to audition for these challenging parts then please email dirrtypictures.booking@gmail.com
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