"Gwen in Purgatory"

It was the last week of the performance of "Gwen in Purgatory" at La Boite Theatre at Kelvin Grove.  I had not been there before (I remember the old La Boite, theatre in the round at Hale Street, many years ago before the roadworks in that area). La Boite had moved to the midst of the huge campus/retail area of the campus there.  So much has been developed since I last visited there too!

I had read the review of "Gwen in Purgatory" in the Courier Mail some weeks ago - a play about the challenges of ageing. 

I managed to find my way there - so difficult as there isn't even a sign up that it is "La Boite" and I had to ask security staff - one, an ex-American escorted me to the theatre - I'd have had a challenge finding it myself as there it is called "Roundhouse Theatre" and even then the signage is difficult to find.  ( I was amused that the security man called it "La Boyt" - not the French - he said that is what it is called now - though theatre staff disputed this when I asked them!)

Parking is free  - which is a bonus. There are parking fees/restrictions more during the day.

The theatre is high in a building (thank you elevator), and there is a bar and coffee space near the box office, but no where else to wait.  No seating.  I wandered around until the doors opened at 7.15 pm.  On entering the theatre, we could sit anywhere we chose, with seating on three sides of the square theatre in the round.

Gwen Houlihan was already on stage sitting in her lounge chair reading, fussing, surrounded by cardboard boxes in a rather modern new home.

Gwen, at 90 years of age, has moved into a new home and clearly has not opened any boxes, nor it appears has she eaten as there is no food in the fridge, or pantry.  And she doesn't know where her things are.

She clearly is having trouble with all her remotes (security, air conditioner etc), and the new cordless phone and her mobile phone and there are some funny moments as she tries to work them out.

I noticed the young people in the audience found these scenes very funny - but there was little or no laughter from the older people around me.  (Young people have grown up with these technologies, but we older people have had to learn the intricacies of these tools that we don't readily "embrace".)

The storyline was brilliant, the actors were excellent and the whole show was very real.  The flyer says "Gwen is 90.  She woke up one morning to discover that purgatory is sitting alone in a new house in a new subdivision, trying to work out if the remote in her hand operates the TV, the air-con or the fan-forced oven."

Grant Dodwell plays one of the family members - many of us will remember him from A Country Practice and other shows.  I was rather surprised to see him so "rotund" but later learned that it was clever padding!

Melissa Jaffer as Gwen was brilliant, and I loved the character of Father Ezekiel (Pacharo Mzembe)who had come to bless the new house.  In fact all the cast was brilliant.