Paul Case is doing a really hard thing in Rogues So Banished and he is doing it well. I can’t imagine how much each of these performances takes out of him as he stands alone at the front of an intimate theater space to embody people of questionable character and passionate emotions who come to a bad end. Paul manages to make each of the three characters distinct in voice and physicality and plays them in quick succession even during heated dialogue.
I enjoyed the performance very much, but this won’t be everybody’s cup of tea by any stretch. This is an adult horror story about transported convicts in Australia who get themselves into dire straights. They are not nice people; one definitely wants to hold them at arms length. Yet they are human. They have feelings the audience can identify with even as they take actions that offend the civilized sensibility.
This performance took a lot of courage and theatrical skill. It touches upon a piece of problematic history that we may be peripherally aware of but probably choose to ignore. I wonder why Paul decided to tell this story. I am also glad he did.
Low and behold, there is Australia! The setting of this story in New South Wales.