“Although this iteration of Tiddas missed the mark, we should not be dissuaded from refining, exploring and pushing the envelope.“
Suzanne Mackay
2 Stars
Belvoir
Tiddas is a play adapted from the novel of the same name, by the novels author Anita Heiss. The production currently on stage Upstairs Belvoir St Theatre perhaps suffers from small picture syndrome as there doesn’t seem to be anyone looking at the production from far enough away to see what’s really going on.
The play revolves around a monthly book club which is the catalyst for Veronica, Izzy, Xanthe, Ellen and Nadine (VIXEN…get it?) to discuss their lives, hopes and dreams, from desperately wanting kids to being unexpectedly with child, dealing with career successes and failed marriages to working through a commitment phobia. It’s a trope we’ve seen many times before on stage and screen but Tiddas point of difference is supposed to be that most of the books are relevant to and inform a discussion of culture. This is where the play is important, culture discussing culture can be powerful, but onstage and within such a cliched trope, it barely gets to a second dimension.
The women bond over a shared history, all coming from rural Mudgee in NSW and have gravitated together, like a flock of birds and are now living their lives in the suburbs of Brisbane. In the current production at Belvoir St, it’s hard to understand, or get the sense of a deep camaraderie at the core of the play, due to the casting of actors of such varying ages. Louise Brehmer as Nadine is as nuanced as the script allows her to be as the ‘only white woman’ in the group, however when she looks back on their thirty year relationship, it takes a Herculean suspension of disbelief when many of the cast appear to have not have yet reached that milestone.
This isn’t to say there’s no charm in the piece, the actors are watchable, diverse and not without a cracking wit from time to time, but these moments are nestled in between too much exposition. Anna McMahon as Veronica seems to tell the audience more than she tells her tidda’s how she feels, other characters seem to have their reaction to whatever revelations are made all ready to go, as if it would be the same no matter how it was delivered and Sean Dow who has the difficult task of playing all five male characters does not have enough variety to identify each character so the audience relies on his costume to determine who is who. Perhaps this is once again evidence of a lack of training opportunities in Australian theatre, without which actors don’t have the sort of apprenticeship and rigorous training such as in the UK, and they end up learning on the main stages.
Although this iteration of Tiddas missed the mark, we should not be dissuaded from refining, exploring and pushing the envelope. In fact, this might be a call to arms – for us to take bigger risks, to invite controversy so even if we miss that mark, we start a conversation.
Suzanne Mackay, Theatre Now
