REVOLT. SHE SAID. REVOLT AGAIN | Vena Cava Productions
REVOLT. SHE SAID. REVOLT AGAIN is an audacious and bold production. Breaking down text, vocabulary, and vernacular to its most surreal roots, it explores how words and society’s changing definition of them, have shaped the way we perceive and behave towards women, and placed arbitrary – and often absurd – boundaries around gender roles.
All images: Jade Ellis Photography
This work is a courageous programming choice by QUT student theatre company Vena Cava Productions. It tries from the very first moment to make you feel uncomfortable and ponder difficult questions. Director Hannah Barr illuminates these questions through her directing prowess by centring all the vignettes on a platform in the middle of the stage; positioned in front of a projection screen which displayed flashes of the next chapter in the text, as well as key lines.
The frantic scenes brought to life by the cast included a couple using subversive foreplay language that placed the power of the words in the hands of the woman, an employee and her boss arguing over the merits of not wanting to work on Mondays and rape culture in public spaces.
Alice Birch’s text is loud and provocative and can very easily be adapted in an over the top fashion if placed in the hands of less capable creatives. Thankfully, Barr and her creative team kept it grounded enough for it’s emotional beats to never lose their significance. One stand out moment of the play was when the actor playing a rape victim directly addressed the audience about having to shed her skin and change her skin constantly to re-claim ownership of her own body. Likewise, when the play wants you to laugh in your discomfort, we were all clenching our guts.
Vena Cava Production of REVOLT. SHE SAID. REVOLT AGAIN was of the calibre of a professional production and promises a bright future for these emerging artists.
