THEATRE: WOMAN

Annie wheels her shopping trolley in from stage right, seemingly from the back of Reverse Garbage. We’re in the Addison Rd complex in Marrickville and she’s packed a life full of tragedy into that trolley. She wants a sausage sandwich and she’s telling us that, “Life sux”. If mismatched socks is stage-speak for homelessness, then mismatched and inside-out surely means crazy. Sharon Flanagan plays the colourful and gutsy protagonist and she’s the clear star of this production, even if I would cross the street to avoid her. However, as the play unfolds, the audience is left asking themselves – is she? Is Annie the clinically insane package that we choose to ignore? Or could she be the truth in tramp’s clothing …

The stage is set outside a mansion with a set of wrought iron gates separating Annie from the occupants inside, who she believes to be the family who abandoned her many years ago. She’s here to ask them a question, and to deliver a gift. Through a series of flashbacks, we are taken on a journey of her life, one blotted with abuse, neglect and stolen innocence. The younger Annie, played by Matilda Ridgway, is delightfully pure and adorned in peach, a far cry from her decrepit, mismatched future. Chris Leaney compliments her performance as he tackles a range of roles, from the uptight, buttoned-up public servant to the sleazy, unbuttoned painter.

The play makes some interesting points about women, love and the vows of marriage as we see the very ideas torn down before our eyes. It’s as if Annie is standing at the pearly gates of heaven watching her life unfold. Knife-wielding threats aside, she the most honest character I have seen on stage in a long time. She must be crazy.

Until Dec 11, Sidetrack Theatre, Centre Hut 9, 142 Addison St, Marrickville, $23-28, 9519 9231, sidetrack.com.au