THEATRE: REFERENCES TO SALVADOR DALI MAKE ME HOT

There’s no escaping the title which is a tad misguiding if you are expecting melting pocket watches or flamboyant moustaches. However, the play does begin in a surreal desert world where a cat and coyote are slinking into courtship whilst the moon is seducing a dreamy Gabriela who’s awaiting the return of her husband, the one she fell in love with before he was enlisted into the US Army. Painful reality sets in when the man who’s returned is himself a victim of war. Brainwashed by the system, he rationalises away his horrific dreams as a justification for the generous combat salary. Echoing army recruitment advertisements that prey on young men’s insecurities, he tells Gabriela, “You think I’m common, but I’m not. I jump out of planes. I climb mountains. I know martial arts. I can survive in the middle of nowhere with nothing but a shoe string and a mirror”. José Rivera (The Motorcycle Diaries) has driven a very real alternate war story deep into a trancelike realm of beautiful voices, skin, red dust and shadows of a desert dawn –  created artfully by set and lighting designers Rita Carmody and Verity Hampson. What made me really hot were the passionate performances by the actors, with one refusing to get out of character even during set changes.

 Until Oct 17, SBW Stables Theatre, 10 Nimrod Street, Kings Cross, $23-30, 8002 4772, griffintheatre.com