Ulster American

David Ireland’s biting play, Ulster American, is coming to the Seymour Centre. Directed by Shane Anthony the play deals with such themes as misogyny, lust for power and intolerance.

Harriet Gordon Anderson who plays Ruth, an Irish playwright with an axe to grind, said that she sees her character as “uncompromising and brutal but honest.” Not surprising when the other two characters, an American Actor and a British Director, Brian Meagan and Jeremy Waters, become her protagonists. They have come together, in fact, to produce her play and the sparks begin to fly with disagreements and bullying tactics perpetrated by the two men.

“It’s really a black comedy,” said Gordon-Anderson, designed to make the audience self reflect. It’s both funny and deeply troubling. All part of the cancel culture, which is about holding people accountable and whether or not ending someone’s career is the most effective method of dealing with abusive behaviours. In a way the play is a campaigner for the, ‘Me Too’, movement in that many companies have introduced new policies like, ‘intimacy workshops,’ for the cast so that women feel safe and protected whilst working on a show.

According to Gordon-Anderson, “We are still not in a Utopian environment but we are definitely moving away from intolerance.”  

So if taking a swipe at ‘wokeness’ is your bag this is a play well worth seeing.

Until May 29. Seymour Centre, Cnr City Rd & Cleveland St, Chippendale. $35-$49+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.seymourcentre.com

By Renee Lou Dallow

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