POV

The concept of this play is ingenious and plays with the conventions of theatre and documentary filmmaking in a very impish and innovative manner. Bub (Edith Whitehead) is an 11-year-old who uses documentary filmmaking as a way of managing some of the questions surrounding herself and her relationship with her parents. The script places Bub at the centre of the action and gives her great agency in the way the story unfolds. In fact, her parents are played in the documentary by two unrehearsed actors who follow her directions and read from scripts she provides. 

The effect is charming as Bub confidently instructs them where to stand, what actions to engage in and which scripts to read. This allows her creative process in constructing the documentary to be the focus of the play. The guest actors (Geraldine Hakewill and Bert La Bonté) take the challenge with a good measure of aplomb and put their acting skills to the test. Hakewill and La Bonté are sensational and bring real and raw emotions to a text they know very little about before appearing in the show.

Whitehead is particularly endearing in her confident ability to arrange all the action and manage the technology. The play also draws attention to and exposes both the conventions of documentary filmmaking and the regulations that govern the employment of underage actors on stage. These are the most intriguing and entertaining elements in the show. It is intriguing to see how Bub is driven to make the documentary by her mother’s mysterious behaviour. In the second act her mother’s mental illness is revealed, dramatically altering the tone of the play. This shift is not an easy one to make. The performances are very moving, but the structure of the play becomes less cohesive.

Each performance has different guest actors while the role of Bub alternates between Edith Whitehead and Mabelle Rose. This preserves the improvisational and unpredictable elements of this show that is delightfully mischievous, whimsical and funny. However, the story is also told with intensity and poignancy which makes this a refreshingly new, unusual, and authentic theatrical experience.

Patricia Di Risio 

Images from Dress Rehearsal. Photographer: Ashlea Caygill