Caroline O’Connor received a deserved standing ovation on the opening night of her one woman show ‘Bombshells’ at the Seymour Centre.
‘Bombshells’, written by Joanna Murray-Smith, is a Melbourne Theatre Company production, directed by its Artistic Director Simon Phillips, which has brought up to Sydney by the Ensemble Theatre.
This was a special night at the theatre, combining the brilliance of a charismatic performer with some strong dramatic writing.
Caroline O’Connor played six different women ‘captured’ at very emotional times in their lives.
The strength and pleasure of this production lay in its immediacy; I had a sure handle on each character and what they were going through.

Caroline as Meryl Davenport, suburban mother of three… What a stunning portrait of a stressed out mother as she endeavors to survive the daily routine. Here was a picture of woman as puppet, whose strings were pulled in every direction. We hear her self talk unraveling at a huge rate of knots.

Caroline as Tiggy Entwhistle, abandoned wife and cactophile… Tiggy is lecturing to her gardening club about her passion for cactuses. Her slide show shows her expansive knowledge of the wide variety of cacti. It doesn’t take long to work out that Tiggy is an enormously lonely woman and that her passion for gardening is a poor substitute for good relationships.

Caroline as teenage entertainer Mary O’Donnell, preparing for her segment in a talent quest…My God this sure was a change of pace from Tiggy’s gardening show. Caroline captured Mary perfectly…the talented young entertainer living totally on adrenalin…determined to become a star and move over anyone in her way….resolved to put on the performance of her life.

Caroline as bride to be Theresa McTerry… This was a poignant vignette. Caroline portrayed the 360 degree range of feelings that Theresa was going through coming up to her momentous wedding day. There is a line which Caroline delivers that hangs permanently in the air, ‘its the dress that made me do it’.

Caroline as lonely widow, Winsome Webster…I saw this as the best written and most delicately performed of the six pieces. Winsome, a lonely middle-aged woman finds romance in the most unlikely of situations, after she has all but given up hope.

I loved this vignette’s theme, the role that chance, that mysterious element, can play in our lives.
Ironically, I found the final vignette, with Caroline playing spun-out diva Zoe Struthers, the least interesting and satisfying.

It was undoubtedly a showcase for Caroline to show off her musical rather than dramatic range, and as such it worked well. I simply felt that I have seen far too many versions of this particular story, of the drunk, doped out, has been performer, strutting the boards once too often.
Summing up, ‘Bombshells’ was a special night in the theatre, and for the next month is likely to be the hottest tickets in town.