MICF: Bane Trilogy (Bane 1)

Bane Trilogy encompasses three stories of loner Bruce Bane (Joe Bone) and his somewhat film noir-like adventures in the shiftier parts of an American metropolis. The part of the trilogy you’ll see depends on which night of the week you attend, and, according to the MICF guide, Bane 1, 2 or 3 can be seen in any order. Tuesday and Friday nights offer Bane 1, a show likely to appeal to those partial to action blockbusters and physical theatre.

In a show without a set or props, the standout feature of the show is Bone’s performance. Playing a variety of roles, including villainous foreigners and smouldering dames, Bone energetically kept the action rolling along; literally throwing himself into the performance and quickly acquiring a sheen of perspiration he would wear throughout the show. The live guitar accompaniment by Ben Roe assisted in setting the mood as the show progressed.

I was unable to see any of the Trilogy at last year’s Melbourne Fringe and was happy to satisfy my curiosity here. While Bane 1 establishes Bane’s tough-guy credentials effectively through a series of vignettes, we don’t get much of a sense of how his mind works – which side of the line is he working and do we want to like him and cheer for him?

The lack of clues hasn’t made me impatient to see the other parts. However, this may also be because I found the comedic aspect plays more of a supporting role than I had hoped. There was also some unfortunate repetition and predictability that detracted from my enjoyment of proceedings.

But – if you like a blockbuster – then Bane might be the wise-cracking hard man to solve your problem of what to see at MICF.