PATRICIA CORNELIUS’ SHIT @ THE REGINALD THEATRE, SEYMOUR CENTRE

 

Patricia Cornelius’s fast-paced play SHIT is a compelling sixty minute theatre experience, charting the lives, of three very tough young women, Billy, Bobby and Sam. As abandoned children, these three marginalised girls found themselves moving hopelessly from one abusive foster home to the next.

They believe in different things :- one believes that unconditional love can only be found by birthing a child who will always love her. Another  had a baby when twelve years and they have become friends for life.

The play features adult themes, aggressive violence and brief nudity, with the very confronting use of explicit course language.  

This was an important message piece, expertly directed by Susie Dee, that vividly demonstrates the stink that hovers beneath these wasted lives, caused by frequent failures by foster parents, schools and government agencies. We see a broken social system that doesn’t have proper duty of care for society’s most vulnerable, and sees these women experience lifetime hostility and greatly reduced expectations, together with a poor quality of life that is  their harsh reality for their entire lives.

Nicci Wilks, Sarah Ward and Peta Brady incisively play  these three abused monsters. Deeply familiar, they have nuanced bogan-like accents, and a limited vocabulary, that is deeply reflective of their failed years of school education.

Set Designer Marg Horwell created a unique looking set with three large open window boxes which  unfortunately blocked sight lines for some audience members.

The Reginald Theatre is an intimate theatre space, and whilst everyone can easily hear the actors, some sequences were not visible because  revealing events were obscured as they took place behind the window boxes.

SHIT, powerful live theatre, is playing the Reginald Theatre, Seymour Centre, until the 29th July. Performance times – 8pm on 18-22, 25-27 and 29 July; 2pm on 22 and 29 July; 6.30pm on 24 and 28 July;

Ticket Bookings – telephone (02) 9351-7940 or online at

https://www.seymourcentre.com/events/event/shit/

https://www.facebook.com/events/1842859522706326/