Life, according to Will Kern, is a ride in a Chicago cab. It's all there, viewed through the kindly, jaded eyes of Cabbie, in the procession of passengers - drunks and druggies, nymphos and ne'erdo-wells, imminent mothers, wacky weirdos. The cab holds centre stage as the fares take a ride, spill their beans and fade into the night.
Hell Cab demands of its cast verve and versatility. Six personable actors serve up one authentic slice after another of Windy City life. Paul Dillon, as the Cabbie, is the adhesive that holds the play together, but the ensemble work of the others makes it all seem effortless. The tensions of race and class crackle in one variation after another. Will Kern's dialogue is snappy, crude, vivid and feisty. He knows his people and he allows them to let fly.
But if he hits true note after true note, they do not add up to a composition. The piece comes across too much like an exercise in improvisation. If the cameos scintillate, they remain discrete episodes, punctuated by black-outs. If there's any development it's in Cabbie's blear-eyed wisdom.
Runs until Saturday
All the Dublin Theatre Festival reviews will be available on The Irish Times on the Web: www.irish-times.com/theatrefestival
