Low Level Panic

Low Level Panic by Clare McIntyre is a searing treatise on contemporary feminism, incorporating narratives of sexual assault, female friendship, pornography and body image, all boldly realised by strong performances from the core cast.  

But this production feels like in aiming to reflect the lives of Australian women in their early 20s, director Justin Martin and its cast failed to actually speak to the demographic being represented. Attempts are made to shoehorn in Twitter or the Everyday Sexism Project and music that would have been played at a teenage house party five years ago - references that seriously underestimate the audience's powers of comprehension and also feel dated.

This production needs to trust its source material more. Adding overwrought strings and piano, courtesy of composer Claire Healy, feels hammy, hammering in that this is a moment of dramatic tension. Young performers, while able, don't add another dimension to the work - we didn't need to see the women face to face with their child selves, and we're confused by what exactly is being said: is it a yearning for lost innocence? Are we all little girls at heart? (No, we're not). 

While the stakes are not high - this play is essentially three flatmates interacting in their bathroom (which mind you is impeccably designed by Jonathan Hindmarsh) - the dynamics between Amy Ingram, who stands out as Jo, Kate Skinner as Mary, and Geraldine Hakewill as Celia are enough to hold our interest - as are their distinctive motivations. Giving the cast and the script more space to breathe could make this work into a powerful piece of theatre.