Michelle’s first major career opportunity is a disaster, literally. A typhoon has swept across the Philippines, and she’s at home base for aid organisation Savior, coordinating rescue and relief operations with the help of a satellite phone and her best friend Janna. 

Michelle is keen to make a big splash; a serious impact, and one that gets noticed. Unfortunately, she’s inundated with distractions – the ding of Tinder notifications, a hot boss with Christ-like abs and a tattoo, and the hypocrisy and corruption of the aid sector.

Griffin Theatre Company’s Savior. Photo © Brett Boardman

It’s a fun, funny and somewhat distracted play. Improv comic and playwright Happy Feraren draws from her background working for NGOs in delivering Savior, produced by Griffin at Belvoir’s downstairs theatre. 

It’s clear, too, that her on-the-fly skit work has informed this play. There are plenty of pacey exchanges with punchlines traded in ostinato, sight gags, and slapstick. But there are hints towards a more developed dramatic form as well, which are promising for future work from Feraren.

The chief challenge here is the scope of ground that Ferara has laid out for herself, with internet dating, postcolonialism, aid sector bureaucracy, early 2010s tech culture and the Philippines’ political environment all within her ambit. It’s a big field to process, and much of what she tackles deserves to be placed under a microscope, but there’s only so much that can be done in Savior’s 85-minute runtime.

As a result, the play is superficial in its examination of the mismatch between the intentions and goals of aid funding sources, the outcomes needed on the ground, and the people and organisations that act as intermediaries. While those might be questions of moral philosophy, they’re also somewhat technocratic and deserve a serious interrogation. Instead, Ferara skims the surface before landing heavily in the conclusion.

Griffin Theatre Company’s Savior. Photo © Brett Boardman

That’s in the nature of satire, but the threads that Savior spins are never cohesively brought together. The Tinder subplot in particular is a source of much of the humour, but ultimately superfluous. 

The performances hold up a hectic production, with actors slipping in and out of one-line minor characters and accents easily. Chrissy Mae Valentine as Michelle is earnest, bursting with good intentions, and desperate to be seen. Chaye Mogg as Janna brings both the heightened performativity required of the role, and the sincerity and vulnerability needed as her character develops.

Mark Paguio as Jobert, the on-the-ground logistics coordinator and dogsbody for the aid organisation, is gentle with his delivery and earns his laughs, while taking the opportunity for some powerful moments in the climax. Michael Whalley embodies Joe as a Christly figure, ambiguous and torn by his desires and his mission, and can elicit both sympathy and disgust as the play requires.

The set by Hailley Hunt is a mechanical marvel, packing a lot of moving parts into Belvoir’s tiny downstairs space. Lighting by BROCKMANN is also solid, and director Kenneth Moraleda deserves credit for the excellent comedic blocking and a tight production.

It could use a little more focus, and space to breathe, but Savior is an entertaining if not revelatory play.

Griffin Theatre Company presents Savior at Belvoir St Theatre, 16 May – 14 June.