The Apologists
Image: Photo: Instagram / Daniielle Alexis.
Directed by Jane Moriarty, Gabrielle Scawthorn takes on three very different female roles in this female-led production of the British play The Apologists.
Scawthorn says, “…something I have found interesting… is looking at the different forms of power these three women hold. One character… has great political power. Another character… wields a power of cultural influence. The third decides how to spend aid money...”
Scawthorn explains how theatre should deal with questions of power.
“I don’t think it’s the job of theatre to present clear ideas of right and wrong. Storytelling is at its most interesting when it is dealing with moral ambiguities… these notions of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ suggest a very absolutist morality, one that is really impossible for us messy human beings to comfortably inhabit.
“I think what we’re left with at the end of The Apologists is a sense that moral absolutism doesn’t work for anybody, whether they be the giver of an apology, or the receiver.
“Ambiguity always prevails... all three apologies are to be taken seriously. But the extent to which they can be read as ‘authentic’ or ‘genuine’ apologies is very much up to the audience to decide.”
Jan 20-31. Old 505 Theatre, 5 Eliza St, Newtown. $40+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.old505theatre.com
