Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again.
Image: Anna Cheney & Richard Hilliar.
Photo: Jasmine Simmons
“This play is so complex and multi-faceted that there’s probably ten legitimate readings of the title, but the most front foot and obvious one is it’s a call to arms to re-evaluate how we go about changing society particularly with regards to feminism and gender equality.” That’s how director Charles Sanders describes the unconventional, award-winning work by UK playwright, Alice Birch.
It’s a play that is just as difficult to read as it is to perform. There are no given characters; no setting or place descriptions; no clear narrative or circumstances; all those things are open to interpretation. Add to that a complete divergence from standard punctuation, sentence structure and format and you’d think you would end up with random chaos, but according the Sanders, there is clear intent about pace, dynamics and message. Birch is deliberately being non-conformist in an attempt to “crack apart all the sort of implicit and insidious ways that the language can keep us trapped inside a system,” explains Sanders.
It’s a staunchly feminist play, aggressive and unapologetic, intelligent and evocative. Sanders and his team interviewed around 80 women from Sydney and parts of NSW representing a broad demographic and answering a wide range of questions. He then used that information to help inform the characters and ideas so that the play spoke to an Australian audience.
Stephanie Howell, the set and costume designer, has been masterful in dressing the characters so that their archetypes can be identified without becoming cliched. Her elegant, clean framed set allows for various interpretations of time, place and ideology.
It’s definitely a work that reflects the zeitgeist, possibly more appealing to women and very resilient men.
Until May 19. Old 505 Theatre, 5 Eliza St, Newtown. $30-$45+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.old505theatre.com
By Rita Bratovich.
