REVIEW – WE’RE BASTARDS

Set in present day Anniston, Alabama, Oleg Pupovac’s We’re Bastards is a stripped-bare, dark and Southern gothic tale of a family trying to play the near-impossible hand life has dealt them.

The dialogue-driven performance combined with the intimate atmosphere of the Old 505 Theatre makes for a deeply personal theatrical experience, where the audience are sucked right into the story.

Joe (Pupovac) and Darling Mae (Tara Clark) capture the essence of siblings charting their lives through an inter-generational cycle of tragedy that they can’t seem to escape. Their lives are filled with drunken outbursts, hangovers, neglect and abuse that all come to a head when Darling Mae wakes to find her baby has vanished.

The underlying concern of the play is a vicious cycle of domestic breakdown that feeds into itself, and while the script could be considered dramatic in itself, it’s the performances (and almost-convincing Southern accents) that pull it along. (AE)

Until Feb 23, The Old 505 Theatre, 342 Elizabeth St, Surry Hills, $18-28, venue505.com/theatre

BY ALEXANDRA ENGLISH