The first scene takes place in an old residential hotel in Times Square Manhattan - a predominant hub for porn theatres and junkies.
Former drug dealer Jackie is just out of prison getting his life back on track, and nothing can come between him and his Puerto Rican childhood sweetheart Veronica. Nothing – except a hat.
In the opening scene, Jackie proudly declares to his hard hitting drug user girlfriend that he aims to stay clean and get a job with the help of his AA sponsor Ralph. He is a hopeless romantic and seeks to fix their relationship. He suddenly notices a hat in the room that doesn’t belong to him, and after intensely sniffing the bedsheets, he leaps to the conclusion that she has been having an affair with a mysterious ‘motherfucker with the hat’.
“The motherf***er left his hat like motherf***ing Zorro leaving his Z all over the scene of the crime! That’s what happened!” Jackie roars.
The drama that follows uses a fast paced & uproarious dialogue where the characters come to life in this electrifying dark comedy about love, dishonesty, addictions and a misplaced hat. Caught in a whirlwind of emotions, they desperately try to do right by each other as they struggle against bruising betrayals and hard truth revelations.
A fearless cast takes us on a poetic journey, led by Desperate Housewives star Ricardo Chavira as Jackie, Flor De Liz Perez as Veronica, Alec Newman as Ralph, Yul Vazquez as Julio and Natalie Armin as Victoria.
Strong Latino references are made, as the action moves to Washington Heights, a mostly Puerto Rican and Dominican neighborhood at the top of Manhattan. Despite Julio (Jackie's cousin) being the only character that is specifically referred to as a Latin American, the Latin-like temperature of the two romantic leads Jackie and Veronica is palpable throughout their ferociously jabbing exchanges.
The characters deliver foulmouthed punch after punch with unfatigable ‘hot blooded’ energy and much hilarity, repeatedly breaking into Spanish and encouraging the public to (at times, agonizingly) absorb this brutal yet tender Latino fever.
Director Indhu Rubasingham orchestrates a gripping and artistically captivating production, where different rooms glide in and out of the public eye and a bright white light frames the stage - literally portraying the devastating realities of these marginalized characters.
This vibrant and technically polished production is both wildly funny and overwhelmingly tragic, as we follow the difficulties of recovery - from drugs to heartache.
Listings info: http://www.latinolife.co.uk/events/motherfker-hat
