‘Death is cleaner than divorce,’ is just one of the killer one-liners in Gympie-based Perseverance Street Theatre Company’s latest gripping and original production: Sisters.
Whether or not you have a sister, this story of the volatile bond between sisters bound by blood, history and buried rage is about more than what the show notes describe as ‘the fragile architecture of sisterhood’.
Sisters is about ‘the fragile architecture of sisterhood’ and then some. IMAGE supplied
Sisters is also about how traditional marriage often oppresses every member of many nuclear families, leaving deep scars. Men have cameo roles in Sisters but the play shows how patriarchy (which really only serves alpha males) might be one of the factors making the men in this family unhappy as the women.
There are memories of happy times too and one surprise was how funny the black humour was, with laugh out loud, absurd moments giving light and shade to confronting themes.
Set in an isolated beach house, the story unfolds over one highly charged night.
As a husband lies possibly dying in the next room, the sisters are forced into a moral crossroads: intervene, ignore, or unleash the truths they’ve spent a lifetime suppressing.
Based on real events
Perseverance Street Theatre CEO, Sharon Hogan, says the play is fiction based on real events and was developed over two years. The long refinement process is evident in the deep attention to detail in this smooth, savage story.
Elder sister Andrea is played by Jo Loth whose believable relationship with younger sister Amy, played by Kerith Atkinson, moves between brutal truth-telling and tender love.
L to R: Older sister Andrea (Jo Loth) and younger sister Amy (Kerith Atkinson). IMAGE supplied
Loth and Atkinson’s performances are gripping as they navigate their way through a suspenseful tale hinging on whether the man in the next room will live or die. Big moral questions are handled powerfully while leavened with typical Australian laconic humour.
The pacing, writing and set design of an elegant Aussie beach house interior, with sounds of the ocean outside and a lovely, original piano score, create an authentic slice of life as two mature, middle-class sisters try desperately to heal their shared trauma.
Little touches make a big difference
An example of the attention to detail is in scenes when Amy frantically knocks on the door of the room containing her husband. Each time the door does not open, Amy slides very slowly down the door to the floor in graceful resignation.
Both actors use subtle facial expressions, lit well, to convey the conflicting emotions many women feel about their siblings, their partners and their lives. Jo Loth’s Andrea is commanding and caring, vulnerable and powerful: not easy combinations to portray. In keeping with her stylish lawyer persona, Loth conveys these complexities with panache. Kerith Atkinson powerfully plays younger sister Amy as an outwardly calm people-pleaser who is stifling simmering rage.
L to R: Amy (Kerith Atkinson), Andrea (Jo Loth) and Amy’s husband Doc (Ross Miller), IMAGE supplied
Sisters is a classic example of Perseverance Street Theatre Company’s no-holds-barred, original, authentic Australian storytelling. Production values are high: the writing flawless. If you can handle it, the play is must-see theatre about what is happening right now in households around Australia confronting intergenerational trauma, mental illness and breaking free of oppressive societal expectations. Perhaps some of those families are doing it like these two sisters: with Scrabble, wine, cheese, potato chips and lashings of black humour.
Sisters plays at Perseverance Street Theatre Company in Gympie every night from tonight, 16 June to Saturday 20 June. Tickets for the Gympie shows available here
A Brisbane season runs at the Queensland Multicultural Centre from 3 to 7 July. Tickets to the Brisbane shows available here
Cast
Amy: Kerith Atkinson
Andrea: Jo Loth
Doc: Ross Miller (Gympie Season)
Doc: Paul Bishop (Brisbane Season)
Creative Team
Writers: Sofia Abbey and Sharon Hogan
Director: Sharon Hogan
Dramaturgs: Kerith Atkinson and Sofia Abbey
Sound design and composition: Alex Harvey
Set Design: Sharon Hogan, Alex Harvey and Manu Bugallo
Set Construction: Alex Harvey
Lighting Design: Jonas White
Art Installation Design: Manu Bugallo
Costume Design: Emma Willis QUT secondment
Stage Management Support: Emma Willis QUT secondment
L to R IMAGE at top of story of Andrea (Jo Loth) and Amy (Kerith Atkinson) on the beach at top of story by Grace Martin
