Eight
19 September
The Owl and the Pussycat
to 22 September
Eight is a showcase for the performers and creators, who are graduates of the University of Ballarat, Arts Academy. They learnt that the only way to get work to is to make your own work and this production is an ideal work to show what these actors can do.
The script is UK writer Ella Hickson's first play that was acclaimed at the 2008 Edinburgh Fringe. It's eight confession monologues by eight unconnected people. I'm not sure what it says to its Melbourne audience, but it showcases the talent of the impressive group of actors.
The highlight of the show as watching how all eight worked together and used the small and cramped stage to create the atmosphere and focus for each monologue (the group self-directed). It feels wrong to highlight some performers over others, as all were good, but I'll be keeping eye on Meg Spencer and Phillipa Spicer (who was in Red Stitch's Beyond the Neck in 2012). Both showed us the heart of their characters, which was so different from what the character shows to the world, and let the character (rather than the actor) tell the story.
And please hang around after Eight and see Bushpig.
