Sunday 10 November 2024
Review by Paul Neeson (Arts Wednesday)
From time to time a play comes along that challenges your beliefs, but then flips it all around so you find yourself thinking that is exactly what I believe. Then it does it again, and again, and again until you start to think I can relate to all those opposing points of view. And the whole time you are laughing your head off. Such is the brilliant writing of Joanna Murray-Smith in The Female of the Species. This witty, intelligent and hilarious play premiered 20 years ago and deservedly so has become a fixture in the theatrical repertoire here and overseas. This new production directed by Erica Lovell breathes some fresh air into a living masterpiece.
Margot Mason (Lucy Miller) is a famous feisty feminist writer whose ideological position has shifted so many times she’s suffering from writer’s block trying to come up with yet another fresh take in order to meet her publisher’s impending deadline. The fun begins when Molly Rivers (Jade Duda) slips in through the open French doors of Margot’s isolated country house (beautiful set design from Paris Burrows and rural birdsong from Sound Designer Erica Lovell complete the illusion). Molly is a disgruntled ex-fan and ex-student of Margot’s who proceeds to handcuff and gag her while threatening repeatedly to kill her, she has a gun, eliciting memories of a similar real-life incident with Germaine Greer.
As each new character enters the scene (sometimes for the most ludicrous reason), Margot’s feminism is challenged and aggressively defended with hilarious biting insults to the point where everyone on the stage at some point wants to shoot Margot or at least encourage Molly to finish the job. The script ranges from ‘men are the enemy and you should never have children’, to ‘women want two things from a man: fantastic foreplay and doing the tax’. Each character has their own take on the subject complete with a monologue and an abundance of one liners that kept us laughing to the end. With the addition of each new character both the tension and the farce are ratcheted up another notch, leaving us wondering how much more can I take?
While the play’s success belonged to the coloratura performance from Lucy Miller, the entire cast was brilliant with standouts Margot’s daughter Tess (Lib Campbell) who is exhausted from a houseful of young children she absentmindedly abandoned, and her oversensitive metrosexual husband Bryan (Doron Chester). Then add the alpha male taxi driver Frank (Joe Kalou) and the alliances between the disparate characters move faster than the rapidly emptying whiskey flask which began full but by now was almost empty, everyone taking a good swig..
And so how do you bring this dark(ish) comedy to a satisfying conclusion? Theo the flamboyant gay publisher (Mark Lee) who, like the Xmas fairy, has a gift for everyone as well as an unexpected surprise revelation (no spoilers here).
The Female of the Species is a very satisfying night out at the Old Fitz, intellectually challenging with non-stop laughter and first class entertainment. An absolute must see, so catch it before the season ends November 23.
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