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MLOC
This Kind of Ruckus
Date of Show:
Friday, 20th August 2010 (All day)
Venue:
Playhouse the Arts Centre Power, sexual violence and crossing the line are explored in This Kind Of Ruckus.
On August 19th I saw This Kind of Ruckus, presented by Version 1.0. This Kind of Ruckus is hardly a sedate night out. It is a night of challenging and confronting theatre, focusing on that bread and butter of human existence- sexuality. The play was devised by Danielle Antaki, Sean Bacon, Arky Michael, Jane Phegan, Deborah Pollard, Christopher Ryan, Yana Taylor, Kym Vercoe, and David Williams with Stephen Klinder. That’s a lot of names! It was produced by David Williams.
This Kind of Ruckus stars David Williams, Kym Vercoe, Katia Molino, Arky Michael and Valerie Berry. The actors were referred to on stage by their real names, rather than being given character names. But then, this is a very Brechtian play. It is an exploration of sexual morality, the misreading of sexual cues, and sexual responsibility. The line between theatre and reality is blurred here.The five actors on stage, who were joined occasionally by two camera operators, had very demanding jobs. All five were on stage were long periods of time, and there was plenty of jogging and dancing, a lot of undressing and changing- particularly on the part of the girls!- and the subject matter was demanding and sensitive. All did a terrific job, immersing themselves in the serious themes of the play.
The show began with David Williams walking casually on stage with a pair of... red pom poms! The four other cast members followed, and all held pom poms up in the air. Their silence extended to the audience. Two of the girls, one in particular, seemed unwilling to conform to this action. We then heard a monologue from Kym Vercoe. This set the scene for the rest of the play. It does not have an actual plot. It is a montage of narratives and symbolic events.
Vercoe spoke of how she witnessed two events in one night, where women were apparently being abused. She displayed concern over what she had seen. During her speech some cast members left. Then, eventually, one of the women began to speak in a sexually flippant manner. Vercoe, as if she had to succumb to social pressure, started speaking in a sexually flippant manner too. This theme of peer group pressure was explored in the play several times.
The second scene opened with an actor gazing down, reflectively, at a half-clad woman lying on the floor. There were two screens at the back. One showed his back while possibly engaged in sex, the other showed his face when serious and thoughtful. This, also, was a favourite theme of the play- the contrast between a man when he is mad with lust, and when he is morally reflective. At this point I would like to say it was hard to tell the male actors apart. They did look similar! So forgive me if I might make one tiny mistake- but I know that this actor sitting reflectively was David Williams.Williams and Vercoe portrayed a couple who were having real trouble communicating. Valerie Berry, from the audience, was guiding them through their interaction. She could have been playing the guardian angel that all men and women wish to have when talking to the opposite sex. This scene ended in drama, with the man admitting he had smashed his girlfriend in the lip with a bottle (obviously based on the Wayne Carey incident). There was also a monologue about an event which could or could not have been rape, which paralleled the Andrew Lovett story currently in the news. Katia Molino also talked about the Greek legends where the god Zeus transforms himself variously into a swan, a bull, and a shower of gold coins so he can make love to certain women. There was the suggestion that these legends portray just how desperate men are to have intercourse with women, so that they will do anything to get them!
Halfway through the play, we returned to the scene with the red pom poms. Everyone was sucking orange segments, which was an obvious reference to sharing forbidden fruit. This time, though, instead of symbolically showing a woman struggling to conform, the symbolism was with a man, who sucked his orange segment dry, then changed what everyone was doing. We heard two disturbing stories in the second half about women who were abused, but did not cry for help. The sad theme that came out was that these women, once sexually intimidated, did not feel, after being conditioned by society, that they were worthy enough to call for help.The guys will be glad to know that both sides of the story were very much explored. Katia Molino and Arky Michael played two confused partygoers. Molino’s character seemed openly welcoming and provocative, but Michael’s character did not luck out with her. When he finally put his hand on her breast, he was repudiated. He then displayed a man’s agonizing physical frustration and despair, and, I feel, the questions he had about his masculinity as a result. We also saw Vercoe and Berry portray girls who changed, intermittently, from sensitive women to flippant, happy-go-lucky partygoers. There was the feeling that they changed like this because they needed to survive socially.
The play climaxed with a sort of simulated party, where Vercoe and Berry were switching between fighting and dancing in the foreground, while the guys were dancing in the background. There was plenty of “alcohol” consumed. Molino gave a blunt soliloquy about how men and women go out looking for sex every night. There was poignant symbolism as one of the girls, after drinking at the “bar,” spat a mouthful of supposed alcohol on one guy’s back. The effects of alcohol were displayed as a player in this, as the alcohol looked like a gruesome bloodstain, and she had red liquid dripping down her chin that looked like blood.During the final moments a couple came together, stripped to their underwear. The woman definitely flung herself against the man. It was shown that- at least on a physical level, which was expressed when she was drunk- she wanted it too. After a scene of inferred intercourse, the man felt compelled to apologize to all his friends and family. He implied he had been reported for rape.
The play explored the crossing of the line- from where both the man and the woman are in control of it, to where the man, due to his physical strength, takes over so the woman has no control about how it unfolds anymore. It explored the clashing nature of both sexes- the “nice girl” being a lascivious woman in her private moments, and then feeling she must be punished for it, and the man wanting to appear like a gentleman, but being sexually culpable when his urges take over. There was also a heavy emphasis on the misreading of signals between men and women.
Overall, it was a thought-provoking exploration of a problem to which there is no ultimate solution. But, of course, the only individual solution is to discuss the themes explored in the play, which is what is was encouraging us to do! This play is about matters which will always be topical, and was a very technically slick, energetic, committed, and- believe it or not- surprisingly discreet presentation of these matters. It was largely non-gratuitous, and, for the most part, retained a serious mood throughout. I would see it if these issues have been on your mind.
Emma Kathryn has studied at the William Bates Academy of Performing Arts, has a Bachelor of Arts in Art History and English Literature from La Trobe University, and has studied Professional Writing and Editing at Peninsula Tafe. Emma’s shows include Iolanthe, The Gondoliers, Pirates of Penzance, The Sentimental Bloke, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Half a Sixpence, and many others. Emma’s roles include Miss Money-Penny in Spy and Tessa Cratchitt in Scrooge CEO. Emma has been an extra on Neighbours countless times, and also has appeared on tv in Blue Heelers, Last Man Standing, Canal Road, Wilfred, Bastard Boys, and in the film The Knowing.
State:
VIC