Dirty Work

Indian Ink, aka Jacob Rajan and Justin Lewis, are back with a new show. We’ve seen them a few times before, with The Pickle King, Mrs Krishnan’s Party and Paradise, or The Impermanence Of Ice Cream. We picked a matinee show on Sunday afternoon at Te Papa’s Soundings Theatre, to go and see the new show, Dirty Work – An Ode To Joy.

 

The show is set in an office, and the main characters are Joy, the office cleaner; Neil, the office manager; and Zara, his assistant. The office workers are members of a local choir, and a different choir is used for each performance. The choir haven’t read the script, so have no idea what’s going to be happening. They’ve just been asked to learn some songs, and the cues for when to sing them. Sounds fun!

It’s a big day in the office, and as cleaner Joy is doing her rounds, she’s interrupted by the staff arriving very early to complete the papers for a board meeting later that day. Unfortunately, they quickly discover that their computers aren’t just down…they’re out! Yes, all the PCs have been removed, supposedly for an upgrade. They’ll have to calculate all the accounts by hand. The big boss of the company, based in India, Zooms them to find out where the papers are; Neil, the office manager, says he doesn’t have the authority to do the work, so he is immediately promoted to CFO. Problem solved!

The drama and music continue as problems arise, and are resolved. There’s also a birthday party woven into the plot, which of course give rise to more singing and dancing. There’s social commentary and critique of how economics and work traps people in different roles.

A trademark of Indian Ink’s work is that at least one character will be wearing a prosthetic of some kind. In this case, it’s Joy, and she has a massive set of false teeth to contend with…although she seems to manage, and talk and sing her way past them without any problems.

It’s another jolly romp from Indian Ink, a contrast to the serious plot of Paradise. But, as ever, thought-provoking. The New Zealand tour is just winding up, but their work is being increasingly seen overseas as they tour festivals in Australia, the US and Europe. If they come anywhere near you, take the chance to go and see them!