It’s extremely rare, indeed something of a privilege, to see a cast of 18 women call the stage their own under the guiding hand of another. It is a shame, then, that such laudable effort should be applied to a dated and irrelevant text that, despite its women-only cast, fails even to pass the Bechdel test.
Mrs. Mary Haines (Helen Stuart) lives the classic high-society lifestyle, caring for her two children in her beautiful Manhattan apartment while her stockbroker husband is away on business. But when her friends, all of whom thrive on gossip, uncover her husband’s secret affair with a ‘common girl’, her world is shattered.
New Theatre has come into some money of late – this is made clear from the get-go by John Cervenka’s rotating set design. This veneer of professional stature extends into the dressing rooms, as each actor emerges in utterly lavish attire that changes from scene to scene. The New is clearly emulating the realist sets coming out of Sydney Theatre Company, and the obsession with remounting classics is beginning to rub off, too.
The cast, however, is a mixed bag. Stuart carries her role as Mary with strength and integrity, and her gossipy counterpart Sylvia (Jess Loudon) is one of the show’s greatest draws, an exquisitely deplorable figure played with almost Vaudevillian emphasis. Edith (Emma Louise), too, is a delight, particularly in the play’s second half where her comic moments are more liberal. On the whole, though, there is still an amateur air to the play, evidenced by its tiring length, and those moments when the actors speak out to the fourth wall instead of to each other.
Again, the big question rears its ugly head: why this play? Why is every variant of American dialect and beyond attempted on this small Aussie stage? Why is emphasis placed on the text’s weakest moments, such as the spotlighted plea from Mary’s daughter? Why are there 90 costumes in a two-hour play? And why oh why is so much money poured into mounting a play that bears no relevance to anyone today, female or otherwise, outside of the audience for Sex And The City 2?
The opening night crowd was appreciative, even laughing at references my grandmother would struggle to place. I can’t imagine that a play so out of touch will find an audience of its like again. These creatives deserve greater relevance, and I hope to see them out in such numbers again.
2/5 stars
The Women is playing at New Theatre until Saturday September 12.
