Biddies

Biddies
By Don Reid. CDP. Director: Wayne Harrison. The Street, Canberra, 8 to 12 May 2012 and touring.Her Majesty's Theatre, Adelaide from August 14 - 18, 2012.

Biddies is an exploration of the womanhood of six women.  It looks beyond the external descriptions we use of ourselves and others—such as dux of school; marriage; children; loss of a spouse; and doing one’s duty in society—to the essentials within each of us that lie beyond those external factors.

These women meet in a school room of their old alma mater, decades after leaving school.  They reminisce, do a little pushing and shoving, and gradually reveal the truths about their lives as they overcome their fears, self-doubt, ingrained prejudices, and petty jealousies.  New beginnings become possible as they rediscover the girls within who have always been there, even if a little squashed.  They learn that life is far from over for any of them.

 

Delightfully performed, the play itself sadly lacks subtlety and depth.  The plot is simple and thinly developed, and the women's stories are predictable and unremarkable, providing little scope for these fine actors to engage in much character development.  In spite of these limitations, the play was enjoyable, and the surprise ending was a highlight.

 

Michele E. Hawkins

 

Image: Linden Wilkinson, Julie Hudspeth, Maggie Blinco, Annie Byron, and Donna Lee in Biddies.

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