Banned

Barbara Hostalek’s first play is thoughtfully structured drama, with well developed characters, beautifully brought to life by director Hellie Turner and her cast for Mudskipper Productions and the Blue Room.

Meeka and Jane have been called into mediation after an incident in which Meeka has been banned from attending her son’s football matches - a ban that she and her son would like lifted. The play was developed as part of the Yirra Yaakin’s Yirra Yaarnz Writing Group in 2016, to fit the NAIDOC theme “Longlines: The living narrative of our nation”. It plays over NAIDOC week 2018, and sits beautifully with the theme “Because of her, we can."

The mediator, Connor, is played with warmth and gentle quirkiness by a charmingly accented Kingsley Judd, who brings a depth of character to what could be a perfunctory role.

Delta Rae Morrison’s Meeka is a well structured portrayal of a woman who is compelled to stand up for herself but also feels shame for her actions. A loveable but flawed character with great nuance.

Jane, played by Holly Jones, is hiding a lot more than she reveals, in a very thoughtfully drawn performance. Holly James is new to the cast, with the others having performed Banned in its debut production at Fringe World 2018.

Simply set,  Banned is a beautiful piece of economic story-telling, with some very tight, admirable performances. Funny, but with some important messages, it is well worth seeing.

Kimberley Shaw

Photography by Rob Fischer.