The Past is a Wild Party
To leave a theatre after a show with a smile is not uncommon. To leave a theatre with a passion to go to the nearest Library and look up as many queer and lesbian love stories as you can find is a different experience and, I would say, unique to an audience member after seeing The Past Is a Wild Party.
Siren Theatre Co bring the eloquent and crisp writing of Noelle Janacsewska to the stage at The Loading Dock with sophistication and assurance. A performance essay—this show brings the audience into an intellectual conversation with all the good, juicy, delectable bits and offers a thoughtful examination of Queer History through literature and our character’s personal timeline.
Image by Alex Vaughan
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The stage is set with caged lightbulbs suspended on long cords of varying levels, each bulb pulsating slowly and offering a welcoming wink to the audience as they take their seats (Designer: Benjamin Brockman). For a Saturday night, the theatre is not packed, and it’s a damn shame—they’re all missing out. Still, the congregation was plenty and audience members were ready to settle in to listen to our actor, Jules Billington.
Billington is warm and magnetic from the start, and we instantly are picked up by their resonant and quick pace. The pace is perfect, making you feel like you’re participating in an intelligent romp round the character’s chapters, scenes and thoughts.
Our character takes us to the library where they search for their family history—that is, the Queer stories of their foremothers. Though there is no through storyline as such, we sweep through conversations on the greats (Sappho and Virginia Woolf, Amy Levy, Sophia Parnok, Nobuko Yoshiya) each creating stories and dalliances, glimpses into fleeting lesbian romance. Billington does not falter and, for such a cerebral piece of theatre, they’re downright impressive. Crispy diction flows freely with our character’s extensive vocabulary, and you feel smart just being in the room. Billington brings the audience in with direct eye contact and perfectly timed smirks and shrugs: they’re so likeable!
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Image by Alex Vaughan
The character’s passion for scrabble and the letter Q have us feeling like we’re conversing over a compelling games night, the stories spilling out one after the other. Our character discusses their own queerness and journey throughout the years. We start with an endearing story about high school music camp, musicians on tour: all night talks and conversations, giving each other love bites and our character’s own fear despite such closeness- that their “deviation” will be found out. That somehow these sweet coming of age feelings are wrong.
We find ourselves in various European countries throughout our character’s life and adventures, night walks away from the house with the grand piano that never gets played along the Rhine, following a woman into a bar, fingertips connecting and all night long passionate affairs. Bodies sliding against each other in bathtubs, enough dialogue to fill in the gaps in your own imagination… is anyone else blushing? I was! Despite these exciting moments, we are also given some sobering realities with the character’s battle with depression. Our caged lightbulbs are swung with force and the warbling soundscape (Composer and Sound Designer: Madeleine Picard), dizzying light swinging across Billington’s face gives the audience an unease and discomfort- sure, it’s hard to talk about depression. It sweeps in over our character’s life in moments and we are reminded of our own mortality.
Image by Alex Vaughan
While Billington masterfully strides about the stage through light scapes and imaginary British Museum rooms, I marvelled to myself (as I often do when I see a one person show) how they have managed to remember everything. It’s a solid monologue that doesn’t stop for a whole hour. The scenarios, passion, pain and pleasure are enthralling and there wasn’t a moment where I zoned out or missed the point. This is a credit to the masterful writing of course, but we need to acknowledge the incredible vision and direction of Kate Gaul. For one person to stand on the stage and deliver great text you need to harness the audience’s imagination, and the way we were transported to so many locations—a hospital, a mattress, a Sydney street, the check in line at The British Museum—so clearly was just good, smart direction.
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The censorship of these stories and pieces of literature throughout history left me feeling rage. “They were companions, best friends, confidants, maternal feelings…like sisters,” our character is struck with how visibility is important for all. QUEER is written on the black back wall in chalk and we are again back in the intelligent wordplay conversation.
The shows ending was a nod to how many pieces of lesbian literature ended: suddenly. This ending was done purposely and left the audience smirking! “How clever!”
I left feeling uplifted, educated, enticed and ready to approach my local library and read old queer love letters
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Image by Alex Vaughan
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The Past is a Wild Party is on at The Loading Dock, Qtopia Sydney until the 27th July.
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