Ettie's Boys

An Adelaide premiere is always a matter of interest for the local theatre critic. Courage is needed in order to present patrons with something new and unfamiliar, rather than relying on tried-and-tested properties. Has the risk paid off, the experiment succeeded?

Director Tony Moore's production centres on the life of Ettie Rout, born in Tasmania and raised in New Zealand, eventually hailed as 'guardian angel of the ANZACs’ and damned as 'the wickedest woman in Britain'. Working as she did in the field of sexual health for soldiers, a domain in which attitudes and practices stemmed largely from issues of guilt and sin and religious dogma, Ettie challenged convention simply by being a woman who dared to concern herself with these matters at all.

Ettie's story is told in a series of mostly short scenes, featuring a small number of characters at a time, attempting to build up a three-dimensional portrait of a woman, as well as a detailed, believable evocation of the times in which she worked, while attempting to convey the full scope of her achievements. Ian MacGrath's writing is generally sharp, engaging, and literate, weaving a historical tapestry of intrigue that makes for an enjoyable and absorbing journey, even if occasionally a particular scene or element may feel somewhat extraneous.

On opening night, Joanna Webb's central portrayal took a scene or two to really warm up. At her best, she brings an understated authority to the role, as well as a charming sense of humour, and she does well to give this show the strong centre that it requires. She makes the period of Ettie's later life, depicting the effects of eccentricity and disappointment, into a most poignant and touching transformation.

The remaining cast members are presented with the challenge of successfully interpreting and embodying multiple roles, and they are up to the task. Brian Godfrey gets the opportunity to once again demonstrate both his versatility as an actor and his facility with foreign accents. Maxine Harding is a delight playing her various colourful characters, more than one of them amusingly and exotically accented as well. Iain Herridge is solid and sympathetic playing a man whose presence in Ettie's life would come to take on a new and unexpected importance. Adrian Gruszka does nicely as a young soldier who, equally unexpectedly, finds a place in Ettie's heart. Stephen Jeffery and Jabez Retallick competently round out the ensemble.

Shannon Norfolk's stage design is simple and sparse, relying largely on the skills of the performers to convey an accurate sense of time and place, but aided by intelligent and helpful use of multi-media projections and textual captions (operated by Neil Spencer). The lighting of Nick Moore helps the small performance area seem larger, while the original music contributions of Rick Burchall provide a particularly striking prelude to the proceedings.

For those who wish to learn about the work of a pioneer and quiet crusader, one of those people whose efforts in their time may well have done at least a little bit to shape the sort of social conditions we enjoy today, this show is likely to be one you will find worth seeing.

Anthony Vawser