The Clean House
Image: Keila Terencio.
Photo: Bob Seary
The Clean House, written by Sarah Ruhl is bringing comedy and magic-realism to the stage, voicing the “dirtiness” that life can bring into the everyday.
The show follows Lane, who tries to keep every facet of her life clean, her live-in maid, Matilde who aspires to be a comedian and Lane’s depressed sister who finds solace in cleaning. When Lane’s husband, a surgeon, falls in love with a patient, it stirs up her household and causes Matilde to come to her rescue.
Director, Rosane McNamara said, “It isn’t really dealing with cleaning, but rather how we like to have things clean in life… Life is really messy, death is messy and love is very messy… you’ve got to accept the mess and live with it.”
The play is fun and entertaining, yet it also deals with issues present in today’s society, acting to prompt the audience to think about their own lives.
“This play doesn’t only entertain the audience, but makes them question and think… it addresses how we like to have our lives neat and tidy and comments on feminist issues and what is expected from women… Women are expected to clean up the mess,” McNamara said.
The incorporation of magical realism elements, encourages the audience to use their imagination to cross the barrier of realism and the script provides a “lovely look at human nature.”
“The play is a really rewarding experience. It is delicate and simple, the more you work with it, the more layers unfold… I really admire Sarah Ruhl’s writing, it’s delicate and poetic… Where most plays just give you a plot, this performance uses theatre that is sophisticated and humerous, providing a very rewarding night at the theatre,” McNamara concluded.
Jun 6 – Jul 8. New Theatre, 542 King Street, Newtown. $22-$35. Tickets & Info: https://newtheatre.org.au/the-clean-house/
By Jade Morellini.
