Dark Horse, Indiana has to have one of the most fascinating and potentially explosive premise on this year’s bill – a futuristic America where women are sent off to war, heterosexuals work in factories and the family men and people of power are all homosexuals. Indiana’s hostility to the genetically inferior straights grows until a new law is passed – the act of heterosexuality is a crime, punishable by death.
The possibilities for such a story are endless, both politically and as a social comment on the times. Yet somehow it fails abysmally at progressing them all.
It starts promisingly enough, with a monologue from a man, naked, trying to speak to the audience as his boyfriend frantically makes love to him. It is both shocking and challenging to the viewer. However, barring an intelligent finale, this sort of brilliant moment never occur again, as the story introduces but never explores the media, elections and religion of the time. It suffers badly from host of errors, including a pointless lesbian sub-plot, pretentious dialogue, terrible lighting and even worse costumes.
The actors’ skills vary, with Duck (Eric Barry) and the reporter (Olivia Rosaldo-Pratt) delivering solid performances that eclipse their companions completely, not difficult when Duck’s boyfriend (Josh Forcum) repeatedly stammers and fluffs his line.
Dark Horse. Indiana could have been mind-blowing, instead it is social satire that has nothing to say.
2/5
Martin Miller
