I Am Montana

Synopsis

Back home in Montana after a traumatic stint in the Israeli Army, Eben takes a byzantine cross-country road trip to the headquarters of his mega-store employer, Valumart.

Our Review:

5 June 2009

I Am Montana by Samuel D Hunter is a play about values. In this case the “values” of the megastore Valumart and, by implication, what is valuable about the USA.

Three minimum wage employees take a road trip from Montana to Iowa to give a presentation about retail work at Valumart’s convention. Though not without dark humour, this is no jolly jaunt for three amigos.

Eben is a traumatised and taciturn former Israeli soldier with a secret past and a suitcase containing a secret plan for the future. He has a passion for flowers and one in particular, the bitterroot, Montana’s state flower. He is loved and idolised by Tommy, who used to be the 'boy next door'. They are joined by Dirk, a crystal-meth addict who becomes the third member of an unconventional love triangle.

This main narrative is punctuated by two other stories: flashbacks to Hebron, where Eben was trapped beneath a collapsed building with a Palestinian suicide bomber, and scenes in Eben’s head, ...

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Latest User Review

David Dorrian - 5 June 2009:

This is an excellent play, produced to a high standard by Yaller Skunk, with compelling performances from the entire cast. Samuel D Hunter has created a piece that derives poetry from the bleakest places, whilst maintaining a mix of humour and high tension. The cast handle the latter brilliantly, playing the high stakes right on the edge throughout the evening. Set, lighting and sound design are uniformly excellent, ensuring that the production has a solid professional foundation on which the actors can, and do, soar. A definite must-see....

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