Technicolor Life

The award-winning US play Technicolor Life by Jami Brandli follows a family who in spite of all the odds, come together through difficult times.

Looking through a female perspective, Technicolor Life explores how the family manages when Billie, a female soldier returns from the Iraq war. The play depicts her struggles with re-entering civilian life as she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. When Maxine, her younger sister begins to feel lost, her imaginary friends from the 1950s technicolor movies help guide her, along with her grandmother and distant mother. Actor for Maxine, Nyssa Hamilton said:

“The play looks at issues we see in a lot of families, but from the female perspective which we obviously don’t really see in much theatre… there are dark themes dealt with in the play, but it is really a celebration of how women can come together and build each other up to get through it.”

With a larger cast than your average play and set in an American suburb, this play has musical numbers, with characters coming to life from the 1950s movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

“They are spectacular and they wear the same costumes as in the movie… they embody these 1950s characters from this technicolor movie and it is something you’ve never seen before in a play where it’s a straight play, but there is also this interesting thing where a movie comes to life at the same time…” Hamilton said.

This performance is darkly comic, but it’s a celebration of women uniting to deal with the darkness life throws at them.

“There is a lot of joy in the play and I hope that audiences leave feeling uplifted and hopeful, seeing the happier side of life,” Hamilton concluded.

Jul 26–Aug 12. The Depot Theatre, 142 Addison Rd, Marrickville. Tickets: $27-$32. Tickets & Info: www.trybooking.com

By Jade Morellini.