The Sublime
MTC
28 August 2014
Fairfax Studio
to 4 October
The MTC's production of Brendan Cowell's The Sublime left me angry. So, I took some time to think, read and discuss. I'm still angry, and horrified at the arguments being offered that try and explain how this is powerful and brave theatre.
Cowell's play is about football, AFL and NRL. I love AFL. I love going to the G, indulging in the palpable passion and watching a story that I don't know the ending to.
In this play, a teenage girl watches a player rape her best friend. That's not what left me so angry.
In The Age, reviewer Cameron Woodhead said that someone is going to accuse this play of trivialising rape. I don't think it trivialises rape. Rape is trivialised with every "What did she expect?", "Rape is a very strong word", "She was so drunk", "But you weren't hurt", "You got in the car", "You've done worse", "Think about his future", "She should be grateful", "He's your husband", "We saw you kiss him", "Are you sure?", "Vindictive slut" and so on.
And yes, for every "she" I wrote, there is an implied "he", but the first turning point of this play is the rape of a 17-year-old girl and it goes beyond trivialisation.
....
The full review is on AussieTheatre.com and will be published here in a few days.
