The Placeholder
Ructions, disruptions, fissures, insults, prejudices and very funny, bitchy wisecracks erupt and crackle amongst a group of women in a small regional town when one of their number announces they are transitioning. The ‘Bosom Buddies’ as they call themselves is a disparate group – gay, straight, widowed - held together only by their shared grief for their friend the beautiful Barb, who died two years ago of breast cancer. But the play’s also set in 2017, the year of the Marriage Equality referendum, so things are a little fraught anyway.
The matriarch, older than the others, is widow Pat (Meredith Rogers), in whose kitchen the women meet to make cupcakes, muffins, badges and banners. And bicker and chip at each other – not always good-naturedly. There’s aggressive always-lesbian Keira (Rebecca Bower), an incipient alcoholic, constantly at loggerheads with straight Joanna (Brigid Gallacher), who lurches from one bad choice of man to another. Then there’s kindly, low-key widowed Helen (Michelle Perera, a beautiful performance), the most level-headed but with a quietly acid tongue. And finally, Nicole (Oliver Ayres) who shocks them all – each in their own way – when they reveal their plans – and their feelings and motives. Nic’s in a long-term relationship with Jess (Alessandra Merlo) and the group wonders – as we do – how Jess is handling this major development.
The Placeholder is an entirely naturalistic drama, and it all happens on Bethany J Fellows’ completely naturalistic kitchen set – complete with running water and a working light in the fridge. Multiple scenes indicate the passage of time up to and including the referendum result and beyond.
Nic’s transition is the spine and central subject of this concatenation of sexual and identity issues, but the central thread is the reactions of the group to Nic/Nicole’s decision to transition – from lesbian to ‘man’. (There’s some unnecessary confusion here as Oliver Ayres plays Nic with a healthy moustache from the very first scene – and then later remarks about getting some facial hair as a result of the treatment.) Nic is determined – so determined that they can appear selfish and unfeeling. One of the most powerful scenes here comes when partner Jess bursts in to lament the transition - or even the negation - of her Nicole, her life partner.
The group’s varied reactions are strong, believable, and rooted in each of the individual characters – but unfortunately, they do feel overstated and repetitious. Their interactions at times feel arbitrary too as if it were the playwright’s determination to maintain ‘conflict’ no matter what - and so the characters can feel like fixed types – until the twist reveals at the end. Joanna/Jo, for instance, storms out in a huff rather too often – not that that is the fault of the excellent Brigid Gallacher. Spiky Keira gets out the gin in every scene – and so on.
Despite mostly strong and nuanced performances, the energy and commitment of which carry the text and keep us engaged, the substance of The Placeholder, though heartfelt, is rather thin. MacEllen adds other issues into the mix: a not-so secret lesbian relationship is revealed; there’s early-onset dementia; one character suffers a stroke. Another worries that she may have breast cancer – and suffers a heartbreaking relationship breakdown of her own. Such things create audience expectations that are not met. In other words, set-ups without pay-off. MacEllen tries to do – or ‘cover’ - too much and so diffuses focus from the strongest point of the story. One wonders why acclaimed dramaturg (and skilled playwright) Kate Mulvany didn’t ask, ‘Do we need this? Or that?’
As remarked, it is the performances here – aided by Kitan Petkovski’s fluid direction – and the issues canvassed – that sustain audience engagement. Nic’s transition is written with insight, but perhaps insufficient depth: it might be more of a catalyst than the heart of the play.
Michael Brindley
Photographer: Darren Gill
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