The Girl / The Woman

The Girl / The Woman
Image: Daniel Andrews MP. Photo: Matthew Wade

Presented by Riverside’s National Theatre of Parramatta, The Girl / The Woman is a collision of comedy, drama, language and movement. Wildly theatrical, different and experimental in form, it is of this world and a lot of fun without being afraid to go into deeper conversations.

Written by playwright, stage and screen star Aanisa Vylet who also performs, The Girl / The Woman is female driven storytelling with two dynamic characters. Twelve years in the making and originally conceived as two parts, the play is now one piece, with the second part weaving in the character’s mother. The Girl / The Woman follows a parallel journey that sometimes has the stories intersecting. The two women take on a number of different roles as they explore being in the world and deal with issues surrounding culture, tradition and intergenerational differences. 

“Vylet comes from an Arab/Australian background but the play doesn’t get stuck into things specifically Muslim. The conversations and issues are ones that transcend a number of cultures,” said Dino Dimitriadis, the play’s director.

Set in Western Sydney, there is a lot of humour in seeing the characters navigate their experiences. The girl discovers her sexuality, starts going dancing and out to bars and turns to the internet to make sense of the world. She grapples with finding her identity, empowering herself and reconciling her culture. Some scenes have beautiful poetic heightened language, drawing us into their various worlds. 

“It’s as much about the magic of the body and the magic of the theatre- being able to shift time and place, with an element of the theatre of image and of highly physical and movement-based performance,” Dimitriadis added.

Until Jul 7. Riverside Theatre, Cnr Market & Church St, Parramatta. $23-$49+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.riversideparramatta.com.au

By Mel Somerville.

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