Save For Crying.

Good theatre transports you to another world.

Innocent and mentally-handicapped lovers Alfie (Ben Grant) and Luv (Peta Brady) struggle to free themselves from Ratty (LeRoy Parsons). He supposedly protects them in return for Alfie's money and Luv's sexual favors, but when he gets on the bottle, the only one they need protection from is him.

Writer Angus Cerini has taken on the challenge of writing idiosyncratic dialogue without equivalent in everyday conversations. Often such an approach is inconsistent and jars audiences out of the carefully crafted world. But here, the audience adjusts to the way the characters speak in the first few minutes and the dialogue remains consistent.

Other elements of the production shape the world-building: Rachel Burke's lighting; Marg Horwell's sets and costumes, including the unexpected use of water; and Kelly Ryall's soundscape that deserves thermonuclear acclaim.

Then comes the acting. Grant's Alfie, reminiscent of John Steinbeck's Lennie, goes on about wanting "fish chips" so much that you feel hungry for junk food. Peta Brady is such a convincing derelict that you could believe she was plucked off Smith St, Collingwood. And LeRoy Parsons as Ratty intimidates the other characters so well that you hope he doesn't switch focus to you.

In Melbourne, this is the first emotional eggbeater since Prodigal. You get transported to another world, barely recognizable and yet creepily mesmerizing.

Daniel G Taylor

Image: Leroy Parsons, Peta Brady and Ben Grant from Save For Crying at La Mama