REVIEW: Your Mother’s Pension

Your Mother’s Pension penned by Greek playwright Maria N Kitra, is the fourth production from Dionysus Theatre and is currently playing at the Mytilenian House in Canterbury.

Surviving financially in Greece can be a challenge, especially during the financial crisis as George, Maria and their daughter Litsa have come to realise. George decides to move his elderly father into the household – the plan is they will care for him in exchange for payment of bills. Maria also moves her mother in with the expectation of living off her pension, but will it be smooth sailing? Throw in a surprise gay movie director, a romantic poetic cardiologist and two quirky plumbers amongst other madcap characters and audiences are assured they will be rolling down the aisles of the theatre in hysterics!

“This is not a home dammit! This is a madhouse!” is a line of dialogue delivered by one of the characters which aptly sums up the mood of this hilariously exaggerated parody. Madness doesn’t run in this household – it gallops! A wonderful cast of actors, five of whom are first time performers, bring these wacky characters to life. Such professionalism is evident from all the cast members that it’s simply impossible to select the novices.

This is quintessentially community theatre at its best which parallels the highly budgeted professional productions minus the egos, as audiences are free to mingle with the cast at the end of each performance. Spoken in Greek with English surtitles for non-Greek speaking audiences, actress Christine Gazepis Stavropoulos who plays the role of a scatterbrained hairdresser desperately in search of a husband, explains that this is theatre for all audiences.

“I believe it’s important for all audiences to see any foreign theatre as it gives them an insight into what life is like in other countries. It also broadens their horizon and particularly with the surtitles it makes it accessible to everybody to enjoy. Nothing is lost in translation, none of the satire, none of the comedy so audiences will walk away laughing.”

“A lot of it is understood through body language as well because as Greeks we do use a lot of body language and hand gestures so I think non-Greek speaking audiences will have just as much enjoyment as Greeks will,’ added actress Anna Bilalis.

Playing weekends until Jun 6. Mytilenian House, 225 Canterbury Rd, Canterbury. $30+b.f. Tickets & Info: http://bit.ly/tis-manas-sou