The Little Theatre Leicester – Until 8th November 2025
Reviewed by Amarjeet Singh
2**
A plane crashes on a deserted island leaving four survivors, 3 are known to each other through work, Ian, Gus, and Marie and one is a lone teen, Erin. Attempting to instigate rescue via a radio, they hear a garbled message which they interpret as the end of the world. Trying to decide what to do next, Tom Baseden’s play, Holes, is described as an absurd, hilarious and fast-paced comedy, which is a cross between ‘Lost’ and ‘Lord of the Flies’. Unfortunately, it falls on all counts. Had it stuck to comedic absurdity it could have succeeded nicely with its one-liners and one-dimensional characters, but deciding to veer into the disturbed without proper development means we are left feeling stranded in holes.
Gus, played by Thomas Bates, a family man, devolves into a drunken waste once he realises rescue attempts are futile. Marie, played by Molly Georgina, is superficial and seemingly unbothered by the situation at hand. Her sole focus is garnering attention from Ian. She begins as a slab of meat on the beach and ends act 1 much in the same way. Erin, played by Phoenix Brooks-Vargas, is a teenager who has lost her parents in the crash. Sullen, sulky and insipid, she suffers a terrible fate which is horribly skimmed over. Ian, played by Dan Rowberry, is the self-proclaimed leader and saviour of the human race. A salesman turned wannabe hunter-gatherer, he is the most developed of all the characters, but not by much. Lacking in warmth, depth and a solid storyline, it’s difficult to engage with the characters. The cast, as a whole, do their best with what they are given, but at times it becomes very ‘shouty’, loses nuance and moments of light and dark which would have lifted performances beyond one note. Physically, it would have been great to have seen some digging, or applications of suntan lotion. The exercise routine was great as was the scene in the hole, but beyond that, it feels stilted.
Moving from comedy to a more disturbing tragedy without fully honouring either, leaves us feeling flummoxed. The marrying of comedy and darker themes are not handled well. This is not a sensitive nor clever rendition. By Act 2 it truly loses its footing. The shift in tone is clumsy, and the grim discussions about rape as a means of survival between the two male characters hang shockingly and awkwardly in the air.
Its not thought provoking as there is no effective development of the characters and their journey nor their spiralling mental demise. Although there are some costume changes you don’t get a sense that they have changed or been changed by the experience. The ending is rushed and incomplete. This is a play with plenty of plot holes.