Three Women

Sitting amongst the audience, staring at the exposed brick of The Owl & The Pussycat, the vivid image of the drag queen who had burst through the same door but a month ago slowly fades. A Lisa Mitchell song softly fills the room for the arrival of three very different women, three real women – three of Sylvia Plath's women. Caged Bird Productions presents the first known authorised production in Australia of poet Plath's radio play Three Women, a poem for three voices that ruminates on the experiences of pregnancy. The radio drama has often attracted cries of its unstageablity, which makes Melbourne's Fringe Festival the perfect opportunity for director Melanie Thomas to tackle its transformation to the stage. Thomas's vision effectively creates a sombre atmosphere teaming nuanced lighting sequences (one of the most appropriate black-outs seen in some time) and an emotional soundtrack to support her dedicated cast. Plath's exquisite text is translated through character with varying approaches from the cast. Gabrielle Savrone as first woman commits to a fully embodied characterisation, losing herself in the portrayal of an idealistic first-time mother. Narda Shanley as second woman handles the suffering of a woman grieving and bitter from a late-term miscarriage with a dramatic reading that heavily focuses on the word. Carly Grayson as third woman naturalistically translates the emotion of a young student who gives her baby up for adoption. Whilst the characterisation breathes some life into Plath's words, the effect of the varied approaches is unconvincing; there is a desire to just listen or to be shown anew through an innovative deconstruction of the text. The production is a must-see for fellow devotees of Plath to make up their own minds.

Season Finished