A heartwarming but unfulfilling production.
The Dapto Chaser, produced by Ensemble Theatre, is a comforting production about love, resilience and hope. With an spirited cast and easygoing charm, it is an entertaining production. However, the production stops short of fully addressing the story’s underlying issues of problem gambling and changing family dynamics.
Written by Mary Rachel Brown, The Dapto Chaser concerns the passing of family patriarch Errol Sinclair (Peter Carroll) and how his sons Jimmy (André de Vanny) and Cess (Justin Roisnak) deal with that. Their primary concern is financial; most of Errol’s possessions are worth little, as his best money was spent gambling on anything that runs. The boys themselves are also skint, bar Cess’s beloved greyhound Boy Named Sue. Tasked with finding the cash to cover Errol’s funeral, Jimmy and Cess must make some tough decisions as they live in a world without their father’s protection.
Ensemble’s production is lively. The delightful set (Simone Romaniuk), reflecting the living room of a house in regional New South Wales, is filled with quirky trinkets. A small upstage platform becomes a nice control room for a local racing track. Video design with well-sequenced clips of greyhound racing (Aron Murray) brings that ground to life.
The cast are warm and authentic in their roles, creating characters who feel recognisable. Peter Carroll brings his dynamic performance skills to Errol; though he could have gone further with the character’s ridiculousness, Carroll impressively establishes him as the show’s soul despite only having one monologue.
Roisnak captures Cess’s larrikin charm well, with great physicality and tempo, and Vanny overcomes some initial stiffness to find the rhythm of Jimmy’s understated persona. Their chemistry feels genuine, with their interactions reminding the audience what’s at stake, and their performances successfully let the play’s emotional beats emerge. Marco Chiappi‘s cameos as bookie Arnold Denny bring a nice respite from the family drama, offering both comic relief and a broader understanding of the gambling world.
Direction from Anna Houston is solid. She utilises the Ensemble space soundly and manages different elements well to make the show tick smoothly. However, issues lie in what the production does not to explore. The play makes clear that gambling addiction is a destructive force that leaves lasting psychological and emotional scars. However, it does not consider this in enough detail.Taking a more serious tone might go against the script’s warmth, and the production aims for hope rather than bleak realism, a layer of reality is missing – one which could have added further nuance and emotion.
A similar issue arises between Cess and Jimmy. Much of Roisnak and Vanny’s performances are spent showing how two brothers come together despite their differences. But the play’s conclusion separates them right as they should be most united, and most understanding of those differences. As a result, an opportunity to resolve their arcs goes missing. The complexities of broken families are instead softened into familiar dramatic beats, which leads to an unsatisfying conclusion.
Ultimately, The Dapto Chaser is heartfelt. The cast give good performances and entertain with ease. Yet, though it hits the tone it sets out to strike, a much deeper story is unfortunately left untold.
