The Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name

The Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name

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Posted 2016-12-06 by Donna Sue Robsonfollow

Thu 01 Dec 2016 - Sat 10 Dec 2016



The thought had never occurred to me: what if the very personal information that we blindly submit on the Census could be used against us or to do harm? This is the premise behind , now showing at The Owl and Cat, an independent theatre company which has an inbuilt pledge for social activism and to challenge long-held belief systems and behaviours.

This year's Census was heralded as progressive because it gave us 'gender' and 'sexuality' options. However, in , the government has an agenda: gender and sexual orientation identification is used to flush out homosexuals who are then forced to take a vaccine that 'turns them straight'. It is a compulsory law. This raises a whole plethora of human rights issues which in this scenario, are clearly shown to be at the heart of the sexual, gender and marriage equality 'debate'. This play also ridicules the fact that we are still having a 'debate' about fundamental human rights. It clearly frames 'rights' into a story about 'control' and the unworkable premise that love itself can and should conform.

Gay rights is personalised in this play which, staged entirely in the writer's bedroom, heightens emotional tension. Tension literally climbs the walls: there is the tension between the two protagonists and the law; as well as tension that is a natural by-product of a self-imposed hide-away as Zaffie avoids the authorities and compliance. The 'heat' generated from her imprisonment makes a strong statement about how isolation can lead to mental health degradation: it strikes a fearful blow, 'what does it mean to be human and what conditions can we be reasonably expected to endure?' The 'us-and-them' scenario then becomes 'a-bedroom- scene-against-the-outside-world' war that successfully questions the price paid for freedom and resistance. is about marginalisation and the effect that it has on the psyche: it has harsh dialogue that reflects endless mind-talk that cannot come to grips with the real world. allows the audience to explore their own breaking point and ponder the cost of shame, rejection, isolation and sheer tension itself.

Suffocated by bedroom walls, intimacy becomes a prison. When sexual identity is denied, does sexuality itself become a jailor? The play begins with a prolonged musical intro of 10 minutes (by mbryo), a deliberate ploy to makes the audience begin to question their own levels of comfort or ponder a voyeuristic position: should we really be watching a scene unfold in a person's bedroom? The bedroom stage quickly becomes claustrophobic, imposing and tension is tight-roped.

The tension between our internal and outside worlds is a theme that fascinates The Owl's playwright Thomas Ian Doyle. is part one of his trilogy, known as 'The Upstairs Trilogy' which is three independent stories connected by Doyle's bedroom itself. It is the place where he wrote the plays and where they will be performed. The tight, personal space is not a resource-restriction: it is part of the narrative.

Doyle's vision reminds me of the 'John Lennon and Yoko Ono interviews' which at the time, presented a radical mess with protocol. A bedroom IS where you naturally expect to confront raw emotions and nudity, and staging a public performance here inspires the audience to react from their own heart space: I found myself saying not 'what do I think about that', but rather 'how do I feel about that'. has appropriate nudity: it would be bizarre if it had been avoided. Actors Fiona Scarlett and Gabrielle handle this superbly as does Director Sarah Vickery.



Doyle's dialogue, which at times seems to have been written as monologue, is an intense reflection of that very bedroom space and the how the characters internalise their own helpless isolation and identity trauma. really puts relationships under the microscope, as bedroom politics and intimate shared spaces naturally do.

Playwright Thomas Ian Doyle has a very clear vision to create great social comment and seems to gain inspiration from challenging deep assumptions and core beliefs. He has emotional courage and is a welcome addition to Melbourne's live-arts scene. My guess is that he is both determined and prolific: I have no doubt that he will deliver 'Upstairs Trilogy' with power, honour and originality. I expect that his remaining two stories will carry through resonant tension and microscopic approach to human relationships and strife that has so brilliantly declared.



highlights boundary issues. There are only three cast members: Zaffie (Fiona Scarlett) and Belle (Gabrielle Savrone) who are in a lesbian relationship, and Belle's brother Terrence (Toby Rice). Intensity itself is hard to maintain and the cast, under the smooth directorship of Sarah Vickery, deliver and hold. The characters are perfectly scripted: I draw attention to the secondary relationship that paints a picture of complex and poignant love- that of brother and sister. Belle and Terrence dramatise family division and bitterness and yet also provide support, protection and sibling comradery. Their conversations are spiced with nostalgia, natural conflict and have a male-female perspective which gives this play balance, universality and gender-tension.

is running in Melbourne until December 10th and is recommended for so many reasons: true to the vision of this company, it is an original work by Thomas Ian Doyle who dares to present complex social issues and human relationships with a thought-provoking spin. The Owl and Cat actors all have great voice projection and control. It is a young company of actors, writers and technical professionals who have promising futures and should be encouraged now. In a subtle way, the idea of 'space' involves the audience (similar to Owl's staging of Choice that Weekend Notes reviewed last month) and inspires staging decisions that rest on the belief that social comment, indeed, involves all of us. This philosophy behind set design creates strong actor-audience connection. This alone gives The Owl and Cat Theatre a cutting edge and a unique position in Melbourne's theatre scene.

There are only 8 seats per session so you will need to book- and fast. Hang around after the show: downstairs, you can enjoy a coffee for .80 or glass of wine for $5 and enjoy the 'lane-culture' of our funky, arts-savvy city- Melbourne.

Please note the Upstairs Trilogy is not disabled friendly.



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!date 01/12/2016 -- 10/12/2016
%wnmelbourne
136280 - 2023-06-13 12:22:23

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