Welcome to Rumbleskin. In the barren winter wilderness, on an endless road going nowhere, a likeable truckie picks up a prickly hitch hiker.
They’re in a land of magic; an America where Appalachian mystique and Trumpian dystopia have been smashed together. Writer Ames May Nunn uses this canvas to craft three stories.
It’s no easy task to create a folk story, of course. The legends of the rumbleskin feel worn in, robust but still mysterious in a way that’s characteristic of gritty fairytales and gothic literature. Indeed, even though May Nunn relishes the hallmarks of American westerns and rodeo culture, director Alonso Pineda pulls out the gothic elements of the script. It makes for a wonderfully suspenseful and intriguing one act play.
Rumbleskin is also an allegory. May Nunn uses the rumbleskin to remind us that gender fluidity and queer sexuality is not unnatural; gender fluid and queer people have always and will always exist. What’s more, to accept your identity is a freeing, transcendental experience.
May Nunn’s message is pretty on the nose throughout Rumbleskin but folk stories aren’t exactly known for their subtlety.
However, given Rumbleskin’s American setting, May Nunn’s created myth could do with further examination as it veers too close for comfort toward a closed practice belief of the Navajo Nation.
Rumbleskin: soaring direction
May Nunn’s writing, particularly the dialogue, is rich in imagery but Pineda’s direction makes their work soar. Pineda has a clear aesthetic vision; stripped back steam punk meets the wild wild west. This creates a sense of barren and unsettling landscapes where anything could happen.
Pineda leads the talented cast and crew through seamless and engaging transitions between time, place and story. There’s always something that draws the eye, a thoughtful detail that makes Rumbleskin’s world feel lived in, as if it extends past the four walls of the fortyfivedownstairs theatre and this is particularly the case with Giovanna Yate Gonzalez’s lighting design.
There are some niggling issues with the production, the three layers of stories creates a lot of threads to follow for the majority of the play and there are three starts at the top of the show where one would suffice, but these don’t stand in the way of enjoying what the team presents.
The audience is in good hands with Pineda and May Nunn.
Rumbleskin is at Fortyfivedownstairs until 27 July 2025.
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Here You Come Again review: Parton musical slaps too sweetly
It’s a good rule in life to have a fundamental distrust for anyone who doesn’t like Dolly Parton.
What’s not to love? The very definition of a self-made woman, an outrageously talented musician, songwriter and vocalist, hilariously funny, notoriously sharp, endearingly self-deprecating, larger than life (not just in the mammary department) and one of the world’s most generous philanthropists.
So if you’re going to produce a stage show honouring the glory of Dolly, you had better be ready to bring it. All of it. Whatever ‘it’ is.
Co-creator Tricia Paoluccio takes on the lead role of a fairy godmother Dolly in Here You Come Again, appearing to down and out 40-something Kevin, played by Dash Kruck.
The production is punctuated by performances of some of Parton’s most iconic – and some lesser known – songs as she inspires Kevin to ‘look out of windows, not in mirrors’, and to pick himself up after a series of career setbacks as well as breaking with his boyfriend, Jeremy.
While Kruck fell victim to some unnecessary over-acting, he and the rest of the cast generally did a great job and Paoluccio was solid as Dolly. But there’s a fine line between love letter and tacky tribute show and unfortunately, this show crosses that line frequently across its duration.
A show honouring a character like Dolly Parton needs to lean into the camp. This show had moments of camp and comedic glory, but ultimately it didn’t lean in hard enough. Read more …
