Melbourne Theatre

Wow! This award-winning play, written by Gary Owen and directed by Gary Abrahams, was a sharp, funny, and insightful social commentary that had us hooked from the second we filed into our seats in the intimate venue. We were surprised by the bored-looking ‘Iphi’, our hostess for the evening, splayed out on an office chair scrolling through her phone.

A rather disarming beginning to an incredible 90-minute tour de force by lead (and only) actress Jessica Clarke, who introduces herself in a spiky but funny, straight to audience, verbal assault as the hard drinking, hard living and brazen ‘Iphi’. Delightedly calling us out from the get go on our rapidly forming judgements around who she is – a ‘stupid slag’; a drunken, loud-mouthed ‘skank’ – and she warns us that we’ll be thanking her by the end of her story. That every one of us will ‘owe’ her. She then swaggers over and forcefully drags us into her narrow, seemingly empty life in a tiny welsh town notable only for it’s utter lack of jobs, amenities and, most importantly, hope.

Jessica Clarke is visceral and frightening as Iphi, moving far too easily between dangerous, psychotic, deluded, cheeky, funny and raw before finally revealing herself to be heartbreakingly self-aware; all in an insanely high octane performance that has the audience spellbound. Iphi’s story is not unique sadly. We have all met people whose idea of a good time is to get blackout drunk and shag the nearest person just to make even a tenuous connection.

Or, as she puts it, get drunk enough that the hangover will get her through the week. Another week where, without the blackout drinking, she would have to sit in her flat with absolutely nothing to do and nowhere to go. No purpose and no money, staring down the barrel of the empty, pointless life she lives in a town that has all but disappeared due to ‘government cuts’.

In one largely empty, room that doubles as her flat, the pub, the doctors, the hospital and more, Iphi guides us acerbically through her strained familial relationships, romantic liaisons and delusions, difficult situations both emotional and phsyical, right to the bleeding edges of her heartbreak and all with her trademark sharp humour and her ‘get on with it’ courage, wearing her ability to take the knocks and keep getting back up, like a badge of honour. Yes, she is formidable but ultimately not unbreakable and it is this slow unfolding of Iphi’s deeper scars that makes the play so remarkable and so moving.

She represents all the young disenfranchised and marginalised working class inhabitants of tiny, run down places which the rest of us avoid at all costs. People whose lives are constrained by lack and loss and who are forced to survive on the dirty, frayed edges of ‘eyesore’ society.

Iphi aggressively points out our privilege and dares us to judge another actions when we have not walked in their shoes, all the while still longing to be seen, wanted and loved unconditionally in a world that just keeps on swinging for her.

This might all sound rather bleak but despite the grit there is so much humour here and Iphi’s story is, ultimately, transformative.

And whilst the audience was captivated and repelled in equal measure by this scrappy, dangerous human who likes a fight, a drink and a shag, by the end we were all drying our eyes on sleeves and tissues, unravelled, a little ashamed and very definitely in awe of what a ‘skank’ can do.

Seriously go and see this play. Get your tickets now. It’s only on until the 22nd September and it may well be the best thing you see this year. You can thank me later.

Book your tickets @ https://www.redstitch.net/iphigenia-in-splott-2024

Performance Dates/Times
4 Sept – 22 Sept

Wed – 6.30pm
Thur – Sat 7.30pm
Sun – 6.30pm
Sat Matinee 14th Sept – 2pm

Q&A Post Show
Thur 12th Sept – 7.30pm

Photographer: Jodie Hutchinson

This review also appears on It’s On The House. Check out more reviews at Whats The Show to see what else is on in your town.

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