“The Confessions”, an ordinary story of female emancipation

2023-10-04 19:38:51

Alice arrives on stage slowly, big smile, attentive eyes, delicately wrinkled face. The actress lets a few seconds of silent observation pass, then introduces herself. In a moment, her story will play out behind the thick crimson curtain, part of which she lifts. Behind the curtain, a second small stage appears, a second red curtain, and a second Alice, a young blonde girl dressed in a puffy evening dress, her alter ego from her high school years.

It is 1960, in Kiama, a modest Australian town, and the high school student is going to meet her future husband at the end of year ball. But the romance does not last, the man turns out to be violent and manipulative and she ends up leaving him. The Confessions follows her flight to Sydney, Italy then London, carried by a saving wind far from a patriarchal society which mistreats her.

This story is actually that of the mother of the director, Alexander Zeldin. The text of the piece, in English, was born from several days of discussion and evocations of memories with her. It shows a woman who has a thirst for knowledge and discovery, who suffers the violence of a world, helpless in this unequal struggle. A quest for freedom and universal emancipation.

A piece like a portrait

Alexander Zeldin chooses not to tell Alice’s life in its entirety but rather offers ordinary slices of life. The resulting portrait is intended to be as sincere as possible (although certain scenes have been fictionalized) right down to its form, revealing behind the scenes and behind the scenes. Despite the author’s talent as a storyteller, the very linear rhythm of the piece ends up tiring. Some scenes seem redundant, notably those of awkward meals, and moments when the table is set and cleared, which leave little room for physical play.

A few passages still offer a welcome variation in rhythm and revive the spectators’ interest. This is where the acting can fully unfold. Notably the dramatic power of Eryn Jean Norvill, who plays young Alice gradually finding her place in the world. Amelda Brown, her elderly double, is also striking when she strips herself naked – literally – to take revenge on Terry, a self-centered writer who raped her, played by an equally naked and terrifyingly insensitive Joe Bannister.

The majority of actors also take on several roles, Yasser Zadeh and Pamela Rabe have four each and manage to give the illusion of very different characters through well-found variations in voice or posture. They sometimes even mingle with the audience, thus moving the stage space among the padded armchairs and plunging the spectators into the heart of the story, for a few precious minutes.