By Harriet Cunningham
A Letter for Molly, ★★★
Reviewed on May 13. Ensemble Theatre until June 4.
Brittanie Shipway’s new play, A Letter for Molly, is a gentle exploration of womanhood across four generations. It stumbles across issues of identity, agency, and choice – with a delicacy of touch that leaves you wondering if you really just heard that. But you did. Like an instant photo, or a family memory, it just takes time to come into focus.
A Letter for Molly opening night at Ensemble Theatre.Credit: Prudence Upton
The story begins with four women, one heavily pregnant, carrying out a ritual for the mother-to-be and her unborn child. The pregnant woman is Miimi (Lisa Maza) and, when we next meet her, daughter Darlene (Paula Nazarksi) is a mouthy – and pregnant – teenager. No more rituals now. Time passes, and here is Darlene, battling her daughter, Linda (Nazaree Dickerson), about to be a single mum to Renee, (Shipway). The question is whether Renee, who we meet at a New Year’s Eve party in a lavatory, pregnancy test in hand, will follow in their footsteps.
Each performer plays themselves at multiple ages, and this is key. When we see Darlene as a schoolgirl, scabbing cigarettes off her mum, or a young, vulnerable Linda seeking hugs from her grandmother, it forces us to look beyond appearances and backchat to see each character as a mother, a daughter, and an inheritor of love and brutality.
Ursula Yovich draws moving performances from all four women, weaving in live wire Joel Granger as a comic foil. The pace is thoughtful and, sometimes, a little slow, but this strong ensemble should grow tighter across the run.
So how will things be different for Renee? Shipway’s central character is the ultimate truth-teller, portraying contemporary womanhood as she deals with her body and her past. Is this the first transvaginal ultrasound portrayed on Sydney stages? It’s certainly the funniest. Shipway/Renee doesn’t flinch as she undergoes examination, using humour to deflect anger bubbling under the surface.
The anger is not just about the casual humiliation of women’s bodies. Shipway also reflects on the transgenerational erosion of culture, referencing Queen Elizabeth’s 1954 visit to Australia and Kevin Rudd’s 2007 national apology, as well as the sinister power of assimilation, ending with the promise of a reconnection with the past. Renee can and will say the word “abortion”, but she doesn’t know the Gumbaynggirr word for mother. Turns out, it’s Miimi.
A cultural guide to going out and loving your city. Sign up to our Culture Fix newsletter here.