Review: Clutter

**Picture (L to R)**: Karmen (Cassie Baan), (Lia Hope) and Katrina (Naomi Thompson). *Image credit: Creative Futures Photography.*

My latest hot tip for the 2025 Anywhere Festival is to make a beeline for the Raven Hotel to see Pippy Productions’ one-act play. Clutter is a great piece of theatre, set in a well-chosen venue, and performed by a superb cast. But be quick, as the final two performances are on 26 & 27 July.

Writer-director Kaela Gray has crafted a clever, thought-provoking, funny, and sometimes moving work that is highly relatable and beautifully observed. Clutter is set in the loungeroom of the family home, on the day after their mother’s funeral, when the three ‘K’ sisters come together to sort through all the belongings that Mum refused to part with.

It is amazing quite how much ‘stuff’ people accumulate across a lifetime. From the heaps of souvenirs, clothes, old photos, children’s art projects and ornaments, through to the ‘baggage’ of memories, and words unsaid. All of this is brought into sharp relief in the aftermath of the death of a parent, as everyone deals with grief in their own way—exacerbated by the very different memories children have of their experiences of growing up together. And it’s fascinating that the roles of oldest, middle and younger siblings are ‘parts’ that individuals often continue to play throughout their lives … particularly when family groups come together.

As the audience arrives, Karmen (Cassie Baan) is at least 12-hours into the Clutter clear-out—sorting, bagging, and throwing away unwanted items. When middle sister Kip (Lia Hope) arrives she is worried, knowing that she will have to act as the family peacemaker once their older sister Katrina (Naomi Thompson) turns up. Over the next 45 minutes the sisters share memories, recreate hard-worked dance moves, recall school art projects, and uncover some of the personal baggage of their family life.

Each of the actors gives a masterful performance, establishing a real sense of the joy and tensions associated with growing up together. My personal favourite moments are first scene where all three actors are in the room, the finding of the ‘Turkey Scarf,’ the tensions around contacting ‘Roy,’ the family show choreography, and the closing scene. You don’t have to be a sister, mother or daughter to enjoy this show. But there is a good chance that you’ll be off to play Tiffany’s 1980s hit, ‘I Think We're Alone Now,’ to ponder the importance of processing the clutter that we each gather over our lifetimes, and to think about how children continue to ‘behave.’

In the traditions of Anywhere Festival, it would have been good to see this show in the garage of a family home, or even a loungeroom. But Brisbane’s West End Raven Hotel Cellar is an excellent alternative for the one-act Clutter: an intimate space with great sightlines, and excellent sound (Mikaela Murphy, Clutter Sound). Doors open 20 minutes before the show, and I recommend arriving at least 10 minutes before ‘curtain up,’ in order to select your seat—or even a 15+ minutes earlier to pick up a drink from the upstairs bar to bring in with you. Here’s hoping that Pippy Productions find other venues and future opportunities to bring this excellent show to wider audiences. Clutter would certainly be a great addition to any fringe festival program.

Catherine Lawrence

**Picture**: *Clutter*. *Image Credit: Creative Futures Photography*

Audience information: The 2025 Anywhere Festival Brisbane program includes only three performances of Clutter (20, 26 & 27 July 2025, all 2pm) at The Raven Hotel, West End. Tickets $25, plus ticket fee. Age 10+. Themes of loss. Not suited for people with accessibility issues. Licensed to serve alcohol (purchase upstairs). 45 minutes.

The reviewer attended the 20 July 2025 2pm performance.

Geoff Lawrence