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Three lights. Three white coats. Three women. No faces. The opening scene of Lisle Turner’s “The Idiot Colony” is, as the rest of the play, effectively simple and chillingly institutional. The story, set in the hairdressing salon of a mental institution, plays from the memories of three of the many women incarcerated because they were deemed to have had an “irremediable moral deficiency”, such as having illegitimate children by American GIs during the war. Women such as these were confined between 1913 and the 1950s, though many weren’t released until much later in the 1990s, elderly and institutionalised.
The simple set, consisting of a hairdryer, four chairs, two buckets, a rolling storage box and some towels, was lit by three fluorescent tubes hanging low over the stage. Whilst demonstrating the happenings of the psychiatric hospital, the lights, combined with sound effects of echoing walks and assertive talking created a stark contrast to the memories of the women being performed to the strains of Glenn Miller and Rick Astley in a gentle, more homely light. Although the switches between memories and the present could be confusing, the writing and directing seemed to allow this to happen, as though to relate to the confusion of the women.
With very few words, the three actresses – Cassie Friend, Claire Coaché and Rebecca Loukes – have proved that acting is becoming an undervalued art. Their performances, based upon true accounts from patients and ex-patients, were heartfelt, believable and truly moving. In one hour, these women told three tales which many would find difficult to tell in a lifetime. Genuinely funny, thought-provoking and moving, I am not surprised that this excellent piece of theatre has been chosen as a pick of the fringe, and I urge anyone, with or without a passion for theatre, to see it.
Danyele Higgins, Sudbury Upper School
7th November 2008 |