The Bed Party | Sophia Davidson Gluyas
The Bed Party offers hope and hurt in equal measure and like any great party, sometimes that must interesting parts are the most uncomfortable.
Image credit including cover image: Claudio Kirac
Written, directed and produced by Sophia Davidson Gluyas, The Bed Party is like a contemporary lit novel that unfolds on stage that explores issues including queer identity, sexuality, consent, relationships and non-monogamy.
But unlike many contemporary lit novels in which the social and political commentary often feel forced out of the characters mouths, Gluyas seamlessly integrates the commentary into everyday conversation between five friends, creating sharp, witty and tongue and cheek dialogue. As a result, I can honestly say that it’s the sharpest writing I’ve seen on the PIP stage and immediately transported me to a Brisbane bedroom where I was privy to all the conversations, laughs, tears and truths that come out of it.
Framing the writing within the bedroom created an intimate, vulnerable and cosy environment for storytelling and sharing. It was something I, as a someone who identifies as female, could relate to and whilst I never lived in a sharehouse, it gave me flashbacks to all of my university and high school sleepovers where we would stay up all night giggling, reminiscing and secret sharing. Genevieve Morrow Ganner’s set design added another layer of cosyness and familiarity, with its bright colour palette and its controlled chaos.
Actors Whitney Duff (Jasmine), Sarah Huston (Finn), Libby Jeisman (Bri), Ophelia Novak (George) and Shanay De Marco (Tara) all brought their A game to this playful yet impactful yet emotional text. A stand out was the chemistry between Novak and Jeisman when they went to the moon inside the duvet, as well as the dialogue preceding it.
For a show that pushes plenty of complex messages and a long run time of nearly two hours, an interval between the two days the story spans would have been welcome. Additionally, the scene between Novak and Emily Rowbottom (Kelly) felt at times more like it was a personal essay on queer woman and parenting rather than a natural argument between two incompatible lovers. Whilst the scene brought up many interesting points on the topic, those points kept on looping back on themselves and thus, the writing could have used some further refinement.
Image credit: Claudio Kirac
The Bed Party is a conversation that I feel honoured to have been privy to. My hope is that Gluyas continues to tour it and take it to further cities so that more people can be privy to it too.
