Australian’s most unapologetic playwright, Patricia Cornelius, examines the lives of three incarcerated underclass women in a manner unseen on most theatre stages. SHIT asks you to consider women with foul mouths and weathered faces, women who spit, fight, swear, hurt and steal. They are angry, unrelenting, terrifying and damaged women. They discuss fist fights, foster care, babies, their mothers, crying and what it’s like to believe in absolutely nothing. “There is nothing romantic in these characters’ outsider mindsets’ says Cornelius who states there is something admirable about the fight in these women who do not behave as others think they should. Cornelius believes many women will be able to relate to this. SHIT takes place at the Firehall Arts Centre January 27th to February 10th, 2018. For tickets, visit Firehall Arts Centre.
Contributing writer Tiva Quinn checked out opening night of this production. Here is her take on SHIT:
I kind of expected yet another story where bad things happen to women who are fundamentally, deep down, good people. Crusty but with a heart of gold somewhere inside.
SHIT is not that story. These women don’t make any plays for your respect or your sympathy. Tough times have turned them into tough people and they’re not especially kind to themselves or to one another. Near the beginning of the play they laugh about the times when you’re that woman – the woman on the bus who’s cursing to herself at full volume and making everyone uncomfortable. Only one of these three women is a bit vulnerable, and the other two are determined to teach her to knock it off.
If you can let go of your need for a sympathetic character and your belief that women should be likeable, there’s a lot to enjoy and a lot to think about here.
My one quibble would be that the Australian play sometimes loses its flow with word choices that just seem wrong delivered in a Canadian accent, but an interesting script and strong acting are more than enough to make up for that.
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