The Clean House

The Clean House by Sarah Ruhl follows five people who are trying to manage their lives and remain sane in the process. There is Lane, Josephine Pugh, who is the highly organised and successful doctor who hates cleaning but who needs a really clean house. Her sister Virginia, Jenny Penny, finds a reason for living through cleaning. Mathilde, Andrea Freitas, is on a quest to devise the funniest joke in the world and although employed as a cleaner by Lane, hates cleaning. Lane’s husband Charles, Peter Davies, has found his soul mate in Ana, who is dying from breast cancer and everything is getting very messy.

The Clean House is a well-written play with carefully crafted and funny jokes and situations that illustrate the ironies of life. Freitas brings this play to life with energy and Portuguese jokes, told in Portuguese, that are translated and projected onto the back wall of the stage. She is a welcome addition to the Adelaide Theatre scene.

The set is “clean”, minimal and set to either edge of the stage, leaving the centre free for the cast to share their situations with the audience. I would have liked to see the set become less pristine as the characters’ lives become messier. There was a nice touch of South American “magical” thinking with the appearance of musician Anna Gabriela, who both serenades and underscores the characters and emotions on stage.

Well done to Kevin Burrett, who has brought this play to South Australia for its inaugural run. It is a strong cast and a well put together production, making for an enjoyable evening, however, I found the pace and tone of the production lacked vigour and energy at various points.

Sally Putnam