On the brink of a possibly life-changing event or decision, we all try to work through any unresolved feelings in our heads, but what if everyone could hear those thoughts? In a showcase of local talent and a masterclass in character development, six women command the stage in Bombshells at The Q – Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre on 18-27 July.
From the mind of renowned Australian playwright Joanna Murray-Smith (Julia, Honour, Switzerland), Bombshells explores the innermost thoughts of six women all closer to the edge than they have ever been before.
Presented as monologues, we get to know six very different women as they share their deepest desires, worries, and those things that can’t be said out loud. Laugh-out-loud funny with moments that will make you think and with a dash of singing and dancing, the characters are incredibly human – they could be you, your mother or your neighbour.
“We’ve got a mum juggling three small children and the mental load that goes with that. A recently separated woman who’s dealing with all the complicated feelings around wanting her relationship back but also hating the person who’s done this to her. There’s a teenage schoolgirl who is competing in her school talent show,” says Jordan Best, show director and artist director of Echo and The Q.
While the characters never meet on stage, they all exist at the same time in the same world, occasionally referencing each other. Usually performed by just one actor, Ms Best says the characters can get lost when you watch a masterclass in acting, she wants the audience to get lost in the characters.
“I want to lose myself in a story which you can do when you binge-watch some fantastic thing on Netflix, you can sink yourself wholly into what is happening. This is the sort of show, live with a person in front of you, we’re inviting you to sink yourself completely into their world for the 15 minutes they are sharing their innermost story with you.”
The fascinating is often hidden in the ordinary. While someone might not think they have an exciting life or a story to tell, the opposite is almost always true.
“When people say ‘Oh there is nothing interesting about me’, then they start talking to you about their life and it is really interesting. It might not be Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt or celebrity stuff, it might not be huge like that, but your little microcosm of your world is fascinating,” smiles Ms Best.
An aging performer at what she has been told is the end of her career, a bride-to-be at the beginning of her marriage, another two at the end, one from infidelity, the other widowed each woman is at a crossroads.
“They’re experiencing something that has the capacity to blow things up whether it is negatively or positively, those moments where you can make a choice that can make or break your life,” says Ms Best.
“It’s like bombshells these beautiful women but also bombshells that they’re about to burst… It is a play on the idea of bombshells and what that actually is, because there is something beautiful in being that fragile and that exposed,” says Kate Harris, actor.
Not after the extraordinary, Ms Harris’s character Tiggy finds joy in the moments of ordinary happiness she once shared with her husband. Now as her marriage is falling apart, she has to face her fears about the future, unfortunately, she has to do it while trying to give a speech about cactus.
“I have a bit of trouble maintaining the façade, I think Tiggy is one of those people who was always deeply in love with her husband, so I think her journey is about ‘How do I go on after I’ve lost something so important to me’, a lot of people do have to go through that,” says Ms Harris “There is often one person who would like to hold onto this, so what does that person do? How do they rebuild? How do they hold themselves together and stay strong and happy in a world in which they feel rejected and depressed?”
A study of the human condition; an exhausted mum, a widow facing life without her partner and a young girl whose whole world is relying on her upcoming performance. The thread connecting them to the audience is their relatability
“We’re all looking for connection, love, safety, security and excitement and that really runs through all the monologues. The desire to be seen and heard and have your achievements big or small acknowledged, I think it is something everyone feels,” says Ms Best.
“In the end, it is still uplifting because you see people who aren’t just victims, aren’t just falling apart and aren’t just breaking. They are people who are reborn, they are struggling and fighting and they’re gonna be okay,” says Ms Harris.
Within the moments that will make you laugh, and others that may make your eyes well, there is reassurance in store for the audience. A comforting pat on the back that lets the audience know that no matter what they are going through, or how awful the thought they have is, someone else is feeling similar.
“It is those things that you can’t say out loud because they might make somebody worried about you but are just a thought you are having and don’t mean that you’re falling apart,” says Ms Best.
Part of the appeal for theatre lovers is the connection they feel to those on stage, no matter how many people are also looking on – the performer is connecting with you, performing for you. Something that can be recreated on the screen, Ms Best says that human connection is in abundance in this production with the characters on stage baring their soul before you.
“There’s a lot of horrible stuff happening and coming to the theatre is like this little haven where you see little heartbeats on stage and make a connection with them, share a story, feel something and walk away and go ‘There is a bit of ordinary goodness and happiness in the world,’” smiles Ms Harris.
The triumphs and trials of womanhood explode onto the stage in Bombshells at The Q – Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre on 18-27 July; theq.net.au
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