By Jen Crothers
Theatre performances in Canberra and Hobart are well worth seeing if you get the chance.
In Canberra, at the National Festival of Australian Theatre, October 18-22, the Burnie, Tasmania, youth theatre group Rip and Tear will be performing Girl and Pandora Slams the Lid.
Girl is a disturbing and moving story of justice for young people. There are large numbers of offences committed against young people which make the small number of offences committed by young people look somewhat insignificant. The young people in the group have faced multiple disadvantage from having to deal with long-term unemployment, domestic violence, sexual abuse, family breakdown and poverty. The petty crime committed by young people is usually related to substance abuse. As "Hoppy"says in the show, "Don't get mad, get a self destructive personality".
The play is a series of raw images/scenes connected by monologues from the play's "authority figure", Lex (Live and Sweaty) Marinos. The youth aren't just acting; they are presenting their own stories. One particularly confronting scene is of a series of young women describing the meaningless sex they have with "boys who always want it, even when they've just had it. It makes me feel this big. I suppose it's OK, except for the bruising".
Pandora Slams the Lid is about HIV/AIDS, youth, needle sharing, grief, homosexuality and Tasmania. The double bill is showing at the Playhouse Theatre, Canberra Theatre Centre, October 18-22, at 7.30pm.
In Hobart, the new Couscous Theatre Company, is presenting a double bill of Trevor and That Guy at the Backspace, Theatre Royal, until October 29.
Trevor is described by director Rachel Dudgeon as a "hysterical nightmare comedy illustrating the lengths to which a young lesbian couple will go to avoid telling their parents the truth about their relationship".
That Guy confronts many issues affecting young gays in Tasmania. Having kids, outing, homophobia and being pursued by straights are all touched on.
Both plays are socially relevant and very entertaining. n