Conundrum

Formalities first:

This play has nothing to do with the Finley Awards or its adjudication system.

Yes, I know several people involved in the production. In fact, it'd be quicker to list the people I don't know. I went to see the play to support my friends. So sue me.


WHAT: Conundrum
WHEN: Tuesday, April 13 (2004)
WHERE: Shanghai Lil Productions, PICA, Northbridge (WA)

The publicity material for Conundrum is deliberately vague, "Be inspired and disturbed by the stories of four people as they struggle to take control of their lives." However, I don't think it's any secret that this is a play about victims/survivors of sexual abuse.

The programme tells us that these are all true stories. Writer/director Lucy Eyre conducted extensive interviews with real life victims of sexual abuse and constructed this production from their lives. Due to extenuating circumstances, the current production only features three of the original four tales.

I'm going to be perfectly honest and say that I was a little confused at the start of the production. Music, lights, people walking randomly back and forth. Fortunately, it all makes sense as the play progresses and I suppose the initial sense of confusion contributes to setting the mood. Unfortunately, it didn't help that latecomers arrived through the same entrance as many of the performers.

As I said, there are three stories. They run sequentially and are clearly delineated from each other. I found the first to be the least effective. It was composed of many short, stop/start scenes and, in my opinion, felt a little disjointed because of this. Or maybe the story was simply overpowered by what came next.

True Story #2 featured Amanda Crewes as Jenny, a young girl with an undiagnosed medical condition who suffered horrific mental, physical and sexual abuse from friends and family.

Forget current cinema's propensity for gore, THIS was a modern-day horror story like nothing I've ever experienced. Eerie music, evocative lighting and a heartwrenching performance from Amanda had the audience stunned with disbelief. We all know that abuse occurs but to have it presented with such forthrightness is uncomfortably sobering.

Don't get me wrong, there's nothing sensationalistic in the presentation, which, of course, makes it all the more realistic and thus horrifying.

True Story #3 is just as heartbreaking as Talei Howell-Price introduces us to her 13-year-old son, Billy. Nicholas McRobbie's delightful charm and exuberance is possibly even more painful to endure as, conditioned by the prior tales, we suspect what is to come. Sure enough, Billy is assaulted and his life is destroyed. Billy could have been any one of us.

Conundrum is experienced moreso than enjoyed. It reinforces our worst fears and instincts but also, thankfully, gives us hope. Not all the characters are victims and perpetrators. Just like real life, there's love and support to be found even by those who've practically given up.

I emerged exhausted, tears in my eyes. Horrified yet also somewhat appeased. We're asked, "Were the survivors just ordinary people or heroes?" A little bit of both, I think. Heroes are ordinary people who do extraordinary things. And maybe that's why, despite the emotional exhaustion, I left feeling good.

You will too. It's locally written, produced and presented. And it has a message no one can afford to ignore. Go see it.

JB