Dirt
Dirt is an extremely interesting play; a fine work filled with poetic imagery, expressing the grandeur, beauty, and mystery of the cycles of life and death, nature, and man’s place in the world. An estranged son returns home to aid his mentally declining father—a farmer fixated on his land, his need to work, and his identity inseparable from the regular changing of the seasons and nature’s inevitable flow around him. A bit episodic, with an ending just too neat, Dirt still offers a serious contemplation on each of us trudging toward our own end.
The pillar of this production is John Dennis Johnston. His performance is marvelous—simple and straightforward, brimming over with passion for the land. With the burning intention to keep going, he lifts us out of the ordinary and pulls us into the center of his life and decline. Ryan Johnston is excellent as the son returning from the army and determined to find resolution to past upheavals. I only wish that Andrea Robinson, as the kind-hearted, visiting café worker, would minimize her accent, articulate, and project.
I am always moved to find a set that, with very little, is able to totally transform the acting space and create visually the essence of the play; imagination triumphing over financial limitations is endlessly gratifying. David Potts has given us an original and true environment that almost takes on the role of chorus attentively standing watch over the action in the play.
The original sound and music (Kyle Johnston and Matthew McGaughey) is modern, eerily compelling, hinting at the profound.
Dirt is written and directedby Bruce Gooch andI recommend it.
Rogue Machine Theatre
5041 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles
January 28–February 27
Thurs.–Sat at 8pm, Sun. at 3pm.
www.roguemahinetheatre.com (323) 960-5563