Patricia Cornelius' IN THE CLUB opens at STCSA to positive reviews!
Patricia Cornelius' latest, In the Club, opened in State Theatre Company of South Australia's Odeon Theatre on Feb 23, and has since garnered positive reviews.
Directed by Geordie Brookman, the play follows Annie, Ruby and Olivia. They're going out. They want to get laid, get loose, get love — but they are women in a world of men. Not just any men, gods among men, their beloved boys, the boys of the AFL. And the rules of the game out there in the world of the night club and the dance floor are merciless, and the lines of division are clear.
In the Club plays through to March 18. For more information and how to book, click here.
"Cornelius’s confronting, timely play [is] a series of increasingly disturbing encounters that begin with banter and end with indifference and sexual assault... In the Club, echoing David Williamson’s classic The Club, delivers a harsh verdict on the unexamined misogyny and unchecked abuse of the entitled towards their female fans and devotees. AFL is the target, but other footy codes also can take a bow, and there are references to actual scandals: sexting, revenge porn, cheating with teammates’ wives and gang rape.
The performances are strong... Daughtry finds poignant precision with her portrait of Annie and Burke’s depiction of Olivia’s ordeal, which closes the play, brings Cornelius’s formally ambitious dramatic intentions to a powerful conclusion. This play bravely lifts the lid on a difficult subject as the gender-quaking #MeToo movement is summoning its voices of resistance." - Murray Bramwell, The Australian
"What makes this new work... profoundly uncomfortable is the litany of real-world incidents which spring to mind as you reflect on the performance, and the sometimes shameful way they have been handled.
The performances of the six actors are all excellent... The addition of water as a seventh player — via a stage covered an inch deep and assorted rain and mist effects — adds an interesting visual and aural element. In The Club will be uncomfortable viewing for some who might recognise behaviours which for decades we have tried to ignore, but it’s a valuable and impactful commentary on the dark side of a game many of us love." - Cameron England, The Advertiser
