The Production: Iphigenia in Splott by Gary Owen
The Company/Theatre: The Red Stitch Actors Theatre, St Kilda
Stars: 5
Until 22 September. Tickets are hard to come by.
FUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCKKKKKKK. That was GOOD!
So, in my attempts to make the most of being in Melbourne while I'm here, and after being impressed with the Red Stitch Actor's Theatre's production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and the desire to see some less commercial theatre, and being roped in by the advertising, I took myself off to see Iphiginia in Splott.
One of the best decisions I've made this year.
This is an incredible piece of theatre. Indeed, it's an incredible play, which is carried off by one actor who is bound for greatness. Jessica Clarke is a name you should watch out for.
Yes, I'm gasping over this, but in this 70-seater theatre, I got to witness a little bit of magic. One woman on a stage that was barely five metres square.
On entering the stage, Effie (Jessica Clarke) is sitting on the stage scrolling through her phone. Once the audience was settled, off she went.
Effie is the woman who makes you bob your head and cross the road when you see her in the street. She's a slag, a slapper, a chav. These are the names used for her type in England, and in Wales, where the play takes place. In Australia, she'd be classed as the worst kind of bogan (and not the cashed up ones).
For the 90 minutes of the play, Effie takes us through her life - unabashedly unemployed, forever drunk, fond of her grandmother, and salt of the earth when you get to know here. The events of her life turn from comic to tragic at a rapid pace. The last fifteen minutes of the play are some of the most effective theatre I've seen in ages.
Gary Owens play is a timeless indictment on what is wrong with our current culture. As Effie says, the lower class is the ones who feel the cuts in society. They cut and they cut, but what will happen when they can take no more? It's a fabulous tale. Funny, relatable, smart and indeed, tragic in places.
Gary Abraham's direction has the pitch and toss of Effie's performance down pat. Jessica Clarke's performance is raw, at times visceral. This woman will get under your skin. You won't want to like her, but you'll end up loving her very quickly. In some ways, she is everywoman. That part of you that you won't want to admit to. She's plucky. She's a survivor, even if she needs some dusting off.
I won't go into this anymore. On leaving the theatre, we were told there was a Q&A. For once, I didn't stay for it, instead choosing to decompress and wonder at the power of this small stage, this fabulous actor and this stunning play.
Definitely worth getting a ticket to see this. Look out for Jessica Clarke in future. She's going to go places. And see this. You won't regret it.
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