Sometimes, in the theatre, it is very hard to get inside the shoes of the main character. The life, depicted on stage, is very different from the life one lives. So it is with Rosie and her story in the Darlinghurst Theatre Company’s current production of London playwright Travis Alabanza’s play OVERFLOW.
The play is set in a women’s bathroom in a club in an unspecified location. Rosie is a trans woman who tells us her story. Interspersed through the play, there is the eerie, loud knocking of someone who one feels is about to storm in and assault her.
This living life on the edge is the way she has lived for as long as she can remember. Rosie tells us about her friends; one girlfriend from school who she gets on well with is also a trans woman. She has another girlfriend who she is not so close to anymore because they’re so different and she doesn’t understand her.
She tells us of a school story which effected her deeply. The teachers blamed her for flooding a bathroom which she had to accept blame for. Only recently her girlfriend told her that she did it. Rosie can’t believe that a friend could do that to her.
Water plays a big part in the play, gushing out of the taps. with water freely pouring out from the bathroom taps. A literal and symbolic overflow that the title refers to.
There is a scene where Rosie snaps out of frustration and throws everything she can find, including toilet rolls, at the far wall.
Rosie talks about the different interactions she has had in club toilets. “Club toilets have taught me more about sisterhood than any book”. Mostly she is accepted by the women she comes across. Sometimes, they are disparaging.
Janet Anderson’s performance as Rosie was fierce and compelling.
Dino Dimitriades’ production was taut and focused. They’s set of a modern club bathroom appropriately lacks warmth. Danni A. Esposito’s soundscape was suitably harsh. Benjamin Brockman’s lighting design was the usual high standard.
Did I think that I got to know Rosie by the end of the play? She’s tough. A survivor. And she survives by living on her wits.
Darlinghurst Theatre Company’s production of Travis Alabanza’s OVERFLOW is playing the Eternity Playhouse until 25 September 2022. Performances are Tuesdays – Saturdays: 7.30pm, Saturday Matinees: 2pm and Sundays: 1pm (18 & 25 September). Duration: 60mins no interval.
https://www.darlinghursttheatre.com/overflow
Production photography Robert Catto
