THAT PRETTY PRETTY; OR, THE RAPE PLAY
A reader in the New York Times theatre section lamented it was, “dreadful,” but that the, “youngsters seemed to like it.”
We’re not sure what they were expecting from a play entitled That Pretty Pretty; or, the Rape Play by a young gun writer, Sheila Callaghan, named one of Variety’s 10 Screenwriters to Watch and a Successful Woman out to Change the World according to Marie Claire.
Allegedly inspired by an article Callaghan read that gave an overview of plays in which men behave badly, and perhaps obliquely spurred by a trend finding only 12.6% of productions written by women in the so-called capital of the free world, That Pretty Pretty takes aim at the American Pies of the world, the MILFs and the teen sluts that populate the predominant representation of women in the entertainment biz.
For its inaugural production Workhorse Theatre is bringing the incendiary piece to TAP Gallery, and Zoe Trilsbach, who also stars as a bloodthirsty ex-stripper, takes a moment to tell us more…
What drew you to That Pretty Pretty; or, the Rape Play? Katherine [Beck] (another member of Workhorse) and I worked on this play in an acting class we we’re doing with a coach named Lynette Sheldon. Apart from the fact that we loved Sheila Callaghan’s writing, we loved the intricacy, the intelligence and the issues tackled within the script.
The script has been described as, ‘forthrightly feminist.’ How true do you think this is? And to what extent is the message still relevant to a 2012 Australian audience? After deconstructing the script I wouldn’t say it’s a feminist play. It’s a protest in numerous forms … sensationalising war, women in media, self deprecation and coping with society’s ideals.
That Pretty Pretty involves jelly wrestling, Jane Fonda, and ex-strippers… a kind of low-life, seamy underbelly landscape. Where does your character fit in? And is it difficult to keep the tone ‘real’ despite all the ridiculous scenarios? In the play there is actually only one ‘real’ scene (that’s up to the audience to work out which one). It sits in a realm between absurd and naturalism, so the ridiculous scenarios are actually ridiculous. Agnes (my character) represents the challenges many women face today…body image, identity, acceptance, self acceptance and how women choose/want to be perceived by the opposite sex.
As a kind of call-to-arms for females and female performers, has it been empowering taking part in this kind of production (written and also directed by a woman)? Absolutely! AND to be a woman who co-owns the theatre company that is putting it on.
And what’s one thing you hope audience members take away with them? I would be happy just to get our audience members thinking. Thinking both literally and laterally about the fragility of our society and what we teach our youths.
Feb 7-18, TAP Gallery, 278 Palmer St, Darlinghurst, $15-28, 1300 314 151, workhorsetheatreco.com
