Tyler’s Inferno
Review by Dylan McBurney
Tyler’s Inferno by Dena Tissera and Dorian Zikic is an incredibly promising new work that leaves you surprised and delighted at every turn.
Amara, played by Rerose Roro, serves as the audience’s viewpoint into the strange house party where the show takes place. While this character could have easily become a perpetually wandering and confused presence, Rerose brings attitude and silliness at times, making for a well-rounded character that you enjoy following. Unfortunately, I missed some of the exposition at the beginning of the show as the voices of the actors got lost in the large space. If I were any further back than the third row, I would likely have missed even more.
The highlight of this show is definitely its stand-alone scenes. As you follow Amara through the ‘nine circles of hell’, represented by rooms and goings-on at a chaotic house party, different characters pop up and get their time to shine in self-contained skits. The highlight of these characters was Alexandra Fraser as ‘Tom’, an insufferable sadboy, who, of course, has a Walkman and will make sure you know that he does. The trio of mean girls hotboxing the only bathroom were also strong actors who created a really enjoyable dynamic.
Photo by Marissa Hor
While the vibe of the party was captured perfectly in one scene utilising colour-changing movers and pumping music, many more scenes used a full stage wash and was in silence. While the occasional music did threaten to drown out the dialogue in parts, a constant booming bass would have been more immersive, and actors talk-shouting over the music could have made for both an authentic party vibe and a fully audible show.
The gleeful absurdity of this show hit its highest point with Amara trying to throw out a can, leading to a confrontation with a cunty recycling bin, with ‘Cans here’ across the chest of the impressively constructed cardboard costume. Chloe Holt had the audience eating out of her palm in this scene, and it was the exact kind of energetic absurdity I wanted from every minute of this show.
Unfortunately, just as I was warming up to the show and its kooky vignettes, the cast were bowing, 20 minutes short of the advertised end time. Not only did the short runtime make me feel unsatisfied, but the abrupt ending where the blame is placed on a character only occasionally present left a lack of narrative satisfaction—not that I think the show needed any. I would have loved to see twice as many snapshots of this strange party and its guests. Perhaps sticking too closely to the ‘Dante’s Inferno’ formula stopped this show from realising its potential for its debut season. In any case, when the show ended, my main disappointment was that this show and its unique absurdity didn’t go on for longer; I was hungry for more from this writer and cast.
