Riff Raff Written by Laurence Fishburne Directed by Kim Hawthorne and Blu Mankuma Starring Dean Marshall, Ron Selmour and Gerry South At Havana Café in Vancouver Rating: ****
The promotional materials for Riff Raff have Laurence Fishburne's name splashed across them so vividly that one could be forgiven in thinking that the man himself was coming to Vancouver.
The reality, that Fishburne has written a play, is almost as startling as the illusion. The actor's career defines "wide-ranging." He made his television debut at age 11 as the child of the first African-American family depicted in a soap opera (on One Life to Live) and then, three years later, after lying about his age at the audition, landed a part in Apocalypse Now where he (according to an Internet bio) spent almost two years "hanging around in the jungle, smoking reefer and drinking beer with Dennis Hopper."
He had a recurring role on Pee-Wee's Playhouse (as Cowboy Curtis) and earned an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Ike Turner in 1993's What's Love Got To Do With It.
Between that role and his 1999 turn in The Matrix,Fishburne wrote and starred in the 1995 off-Broadway premiere of Riff Raff.
The Outta the Box Collective has put together a remarkable cast for the first production of this play outside of the United States.
Dean Marshall, Ron Selmour and Gerry South's collective credits are heavy on film and TV, but their skills have not been dulled by acting in short bursts.
Jay Dodge's set is the perfect invocation of a crack flop house. The beat-up couch has suffered so many deep cuts that it shows its foam like bones. Garbage covers the floor and graffiti, the walls.
Through the plastic that serves as a door paws an obviously agitated Mike (South). He and Torch (Selmour) have just intercepted three kilograms of heroin and murdered someone in the fracas.
The built-in trap in this play is that the actors will begin at a frantic, unsustainable pace. This pair succumbs to no such snare. Their timing is so tight and natural that you could practically see the tension gnawing at each of them with so many sharp little teeth.
Ratchet the pressure up a notch with the arrival of Tony (The Tiger) (Marshall), an old cellmate of Mike's who comes to their aid. Each exposes a little of his emotional self as the hours wear on. It sounds awkward and contrived, but this trio, with the help of co-directors Kim Hawthorne and Blu Mankuma, has ferreted out the script's grit-covered gems of comedy.
The action takes place in New York, on the Lower East Side, and the dialogue matches that of those who scratch the city's seedy underbelly. That they finesse lines, such as "We go back like car seats, baby" and "put TV dinners on her head, you could not hide this kind of beauty," as if they've been speaking that way all of their lives is a credit to the company, exemplified in a five-minute rap delivered by Marshall as they try to think their way out of their dilemma.
The script contains one too many implausible coincidences and the venue, in the back of a café, is a real hindrance, with cutlery clattering and people chatting as background when silence would be more effective.
The gritty story isn't for the squeamish but Fishburne fans, or anyone who appreciates truly fine acting, will not be disappointed. Riff Raff plays at Vancouver's Havana Café until Oct. 6.