The provocative 00 Hustle, mounted last week by the drama club of St. Timothy High School, gave audience members a stark and harsh view of the future as seen through the unique filter of a cyberpunk world.
Gunplay, murder, adult language and thought-provoking content pushed this original, student-led production into a category of its own as actors played to a packed house Friday night – the final of four well-attended shows.
Cyberpunk is a genre of science fiction that focuses specifically on the vision of a “high tech low life” future, where advances in technology and automation clash with a breakdown in social order.
00 Hustle enters its story in a world of supposed harmony – except for a band of underground rebels, led by their unstable leader Ruby Goldberg, who defy the current government’s ideals.
Student Ashley Rocliffe put on a formidable performance as the exiled scientist, Ruby. She radiated her character’s imbalanced and misguided view of societal rule, and watching her scenes was always a bit of a surprise, given the oscillation of her rage.
The ever-present coin in Ruby’s pocket served well as a dynamic symbol of people’s true lack of control over life.
On the other side of the stage, Shayla Bryant was forceful and brash as Jane Bond, a classic, hard-nosed, great-at-her-job-but-done-with-the-rat-race detective called upon by the governor for one last takedown.
Josh Dobrowolski proved convincing as Bond’s android partner, Fleming. He committed diligently to his character, and his mechanical movements and digitally-altered voice allowed the audience to fully give into the ruse of him as a robot.
Complementing the action on stage were well-constructed video sequences with high-production values that were projected onto a large screen throughout the play. They gave the story an added element of visual drama and felt genuine to the futuristic world.
The clever use of chrome tape gave both the stage and the costuming an eye-catching, innovative bent. The Scraps, with their cutting-edge rags, were visually striking as well.
00 Hustle was conceived by the students, who paid homage to a few successful and well-known stories while creating their own – like Rage, Joy, Panic, Grief and Disgust, members of the Scraps who were reminiscent of the emotion-based characters in the Pixar-Disney smash Inside Out.
Different districts, an oppressed citizenry, and a creepy government overlord also gave a nod to the dystopian Hunger Games series.
Overall, the drama students at St Tim’s effectively created a cyberpunk experience for Cochrane theatre-goers with 00 Hustle that offered up an opportunity to challenge their own thoughts of the world around them.
