Review: The One Room of the House

Key information for anyone attending this is show is D49.  The University of the Sunshine Coast is not huge, compared with other campuses. But if the A4 signs have disappeared from the bit of the campus you arrive at, you will need to know this key nugget of information in order to get to the show.

I’d also suggest you aim to arrive early. Unlike many of the shows and events I have been to in Queensland—and certainly at most of the established, non-AnywhereFest traditional theatre venues, which seem to start fashionably late—this show is likely to start on time. Indeed, for the show I saw on 7th May 2017, the 3pm performance started 6 minutes early. This did mean that many of the members of the audience didn’t get to see each of the 7 monologues. Which was a pity as one of the best performances of the show was therefore over by 3 minutes past 3 (‘Gluttony’).

The advertising suggests that the production questions whether the 7 deadly sins are “still considered the big bad? Or do they now have a celebrated place in us all?’ Certainly there were some interesting re-imaginings of what might be defined as ‘sins.’ For example with ‘Wrath’ ( a double monologue considering the frustration of a trans offspring), and with ‘Pride’ (gay pride? Or the pride of a grandparent whose interpretations of Biblical texts lead to a strong belief that homosexuality is the only way).

Pictured: Tamara Collins (Sloth).Picture credit: Geoff Lawrence, Creative Futures Photography.

The strongest performances were by Georgia Toner (Gluttony) and Tamara Collins (Sloth). In the hands of Collins, the ‘Sloth’ monologue was moving and believable; we felt the pain, anguish and sheer weariness of the wife who had elected to bear the IVF twins. We sympathised with her frustration and anguish at the response of her wife, understood her concern that “my babies are feral, and they are trying to kill me,” and worried at her decision to hide the anti-depressants.

The show is set in ‘the one room of the house’—which the Director/co-author (Anthony Borsato) explains as being inspired by the escape that can be had in spending time in the smallest room. Time for reflection,  and for honesty. Given that the toilet is often the ‘smallest room’ in the house, it is an interesting observation that this small room often provides the freedom and space for introspection.  I certainly would like to have see more of an emphasis on the confines of the ‘smallest room’ space—which was best performed during the Sloth monologue. 

This is a student production (University of the Sunshine Coast Ursa Major Theatre Association) and I congratulate all of the participants for their enthusiasm.

Ticketshttp://anywheretheatre.com/listings/one-room/. 51 minutes. The show has 6 performancesduring the Anywhere Festival (tickets still on sale for 14th and 21st May)

Catherine Lawrence

The reviewer attended the 7th May 2017 (3pm) performance.