Politely Savage
My Darling Patricia/Vitalstatistix
Waterside Theatre
Wed 21 March
until Sat 31 March


Down on the fringe of the Fringe in Port Adelaide a group of performers going by the title of My Darling Patricia are doing some unusual and fascinating things with sets, sounds, puppets, images, and (especially) their audiences.

One wouldn't want to be too candid about 'Politely Savage's content, as its unexpectedness is essential to its effect. But the experience is so abstract and singular that it is difficult to be candid about it in any accurate sort of way anyway, beyond noting that it is dark, creepily paced, visually rich, and very unsettling.

An attempt to remove many of the seams (artificial features that remind us of the unreality of a production) of normal theatre does emerge with relative clarity, however, with the audience inhabiting the set along with the performers and even interacting with them at points. The more the seams one normally recognises, such as the physical audience-performer divide, are removed, however, the more one recognises other, previously less obvious ones. For instance, when one is prompted to speak by a character or a guide, one notices great distinction between the composed voice of the performer and one's own hesitant, feeble mumbling.

And as the piece progresses new seams appear, such as a guide that leads the audience through the different sections of the set, or other artificial things like film, puppetry, and cued sound. So in breaking down much of the artifice of conventional theatre, 'Politely Savage' reveals a whole new set of 'fake' things.

The possible implications of this are fascinating, and it may even help explain some of the elusive story. But such things are best left to individual viewers to think up. It can be said with some authority though that this will confound and enthral audiences, just what live theatre should be doing.

William McGinley