Homelessness is by no means a recent condition, but one which seems even more out of place in a modern society surrounded by wealth. Gerald Clarke’s intelligent and sensitive script, presented by FarOutMan Theatre shows that it is still very much present and that the dangers of falling through life’s cracks are there for all to see.

The play focuses on two people and their chance meeting on the streets with a dialogue conducted over just one night.  Dan, masterfully played by Jared Morgan, is a rich voiced, intelligent, articulate philosopher who knows the street and because he knows it so well, he fears it and the people who populate it.  His meeting with 15 year old runaway Pat happens after a violent interaction with people who prowl the streets at night.

After a suspicious start, they share each other’s life experiences as the naïve Pat learns to overcome her prejudices and start to listen to, and then take advice from, the older man who was literally born on the street.

The play never preaches and the pace doesn’t flag as Dan recounts the many bleak and desperate experiences that life on the street has given him and his close family.

The austere stage of the Alma could hardly have ever looked more desolate than the staging provided in the form of several grimy blankets, bin bags, cardboard and refuse upon which Dan sleeps and Pat asks to share.  Tony Mohammed’s remote soundtrack of street sounds and chill wind completes the setting and the cold and bitterness spoken of by Dan perceptibly seeps into the piece.

Jared Morgan’s own direction is assured and confident and allows both his own character Dan and Pat, played by Jasmine Atkins-Smart, to convincingly portray how two people from a widely different background can end up on the same slab of pavement.  Dan is at times sour and sometimes playful as he recounts his life and despite teaching Pat to trust no one he falls short of telling her to go back home to her abusive step-father, preferring instead to give her life lessons to help her survive.  It all seems very futile and the spectre of child sexual exploitation is brought into real focus with the arrival of Jet Clarke’s menacing Voce.  Atkins-Smart laughs as she realises that “I’ve got no chance, have I?”

The play is a warning about what can happen to people who slip through the system and the programme bears testament to this with numerous references to charities and support networks for the homeless and abused. Because of the authenticity of the voices given by Morgan and Aktins-Smart it is never hard to watch and the humanity so warmly conveyed helps connect with those of us who have warm beds to turn to at the end of the evening.

An original play which addresses real concerns with intelligence and pride which deserves a bigger audience than on press night.    ★★★☆☆   Bryan Mason    1^st March 2017