Holes

Tom Basden ‘s sharply witty comedy a sort of 'The Office’ meets ‘Lord of the Flies’ is a pitch-black comedy
about the aftermath of a plane crash and has been brought the stage through the slick direction of
director Sophie Arnold. On entering the Terry O’Toole theatre, we were greeted by the back stage
crew dressed as flight attendants who took us through the traditional pre-flight safety demonstration.
There was also the clever use of the Jess Lynne song ‘Hold My Hand’ which raised a wry smile from
anyone who has travelled with a particular airline.
The staging consisted of the wreckage of an airplane and three lopsided airplane seats seated in
which is Gus (Anthony Sexton) who has obviously been injured as his arm is being held in place by his
tie and he is constantly wincing in pain. Another character Ian (Danny Sexton) enters and from their
business suits we can deduce that they have been on a corporate trip which has ended in tragedy.
Two women are also lying prone and unconscious. One is Marie (Lauren Paul) the work colleague of
the two men, and Erin (Jenna Cross) an enigmatic young woman unconnected to the other characters.
Very quickly character dynamics are established. Gus is world weary and complaining that, in his
absence, other people would take credit for his work. He also takes on the initial role of leader
obsessed with trying to get a signal from the radio and his despondency when he finally makes
contact and discovers the dreadful truth, begins his unravelling. Ian uses inappropriate black
humour to try and alleviate the tensions and quickly takes to the idea of being the only survivors.
Marie who is self-absorbed and seems to be totally oblivious to the seriousness of the situation using
the opportunity to sunbathe and rifle through survivor’s suitcases for designer clothes. Erin is the
observer of the group who, due to her youth, is influenced by the others often seeing through their
ridiculousness.
Tensions are further heightened by the discovery that they are the only survivors of a nuclear
catastrophe following a war that has wiped out everyone. It is also quickly established that these
vacuous people have been oblivious to building tensions in the real world as despite their phones and
laptops, no one had been watching the news or paying attention to escalating world events.
Home truths start bubbling to the surface. These work colleagues have no personal connection with
each other despite working for the same company for many years and we soon realise that they have
absolutely nothing in common. This is highlighted when Gus talks about his now deceased family
prompting Marie and Ian to try to remember Gus’s wife only to recall she had ‘a lazy eye’ and the fact
that Ian does not know Gus’s real name believing him to be Scottish.
Each character reveals diUerent responses to dealing with their situation and the small cast
succeeded in doing this well. Anthony Sexton’s Gus was a good observation of a cynical man
teetering on the edge of madness. I enjoyed his prancing about to the ironic track of ‘Staying Alive’ as
he used copious amounts of alcohol and cigarettes to deal with his situation and repeated refrains of
‘We will Rock You’ to avoid answering Ian’s questions. Despite his spiralling into mania, he still had
moments of lucidity and provided some of the wittiest lines mostly at the expense of the pompous
deluded Ian. His final incarceration, in one of Ian’s many holes, was a good observation of a man who
still had the last laugh sticking his fingers up at the absurdity of the whole situation as he was finally
buried alive by Ian.
Lauren Paul as Marie was a perfect observation of a vain vacuous woman obsessed with designer
fashion and going on holidays. I loved her glee at acquiring a ‘Valentino’ dress and a coveted pair of
laboutines which she polished with relish. Her jealousy of Erin over her love interest Ian, showed her
petulant side but also a deeper longing for Ian who was oblivious to her attentions. Lauren created an
thoroughly odious and selfish character which had us wincing at her shallowness. Even her dramatic
death scene was down to her own desperate need for attention.
Erin, played by Jenna Cross, was the outsider of the group and spent most of the time totally bemused
by the constant bickering surrounding her and trying to keep the peace. She was easily bossed about
by Marie and became the focus of Ian’s misguided survival plans as Eve to his Adam.
Danny Sexton as Ian was a good observation of the type of work colleague whose self-belief
outweighed his abilities and the very last person to be leader and founder of a new civilisation. He
was arrogant and misguided believing in his over-the-top survival plans which were largely a figment
of his lurid imagination. I liked his constant bantering with Gus who quickly realised Ian’s limitations
with his fantasy for a brave new world and despite his own desire for oblivion couldn’t resist a dig at
Ian’s lack of knowledge and delusion finally realising that Ian had not achieved any of his goals. The
scene of Marie’s moonlight funeral was a definite highlight as he awkwardly delivered his eulogy to
soundtrack on his phone ‘Fix You’ by Coldplay only to be plunged into darkness as his torch went out.
Sophie’s set was a clever use of the ‘Minecraft’ theme with a projected backdrop of square shaped
sun and clouds which had been inspired by the angular shape of the tiered platform. Lighting was
used well such as pale blue for a moonlight evening and the use of red stage lights which added a
murderous aspect to the later scenes. Sound eUects also added to the desert island ambience with
lapping water highlighting the isolation of the plane crash victims.
I have to say, I enjoyed the first Act of the play more, but the absurdity of the whole survival situation
was well performed and left us with the uncomfortable question of what would happen if our current
gadget obsessed world, totally reliant on technology, was completely destroyed. Would we be able to
survive to create the next civilisation or would we become extinct? Unfortunately, in Ian and Erin’s
case, the answer is sadly obvious.
Well done Sophie and your back-stage team at ACTion, including Assistant Director Anne
Stephenson, for taking on this dark dystopian apocalyptical drama with a very dark twist. Your
attention to detail and hardwork to achieve your vision shone through. It was also lovely to meet
everyone after the show and I look forward to your production of ‘Cinderella’ in December.

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