Vivian is a defence attorney, a wife, a mother, a radical feminist and a lesbian. She is also very angry and she is dying.
Vivian and her wife Maggie have two adopted children, both of whom have flown the nest. Amanda and her partner Barney have a new baby and, despite Vivian’s disapproval of their relationship and their decision to start a family together, they have come to spend some time with her in her final days of life. What Maggie has not told the family is that she has also contacted their son Ryan, who is also due to arrive any moment. The difficulty is that they adopted Ryan as Rebecca, a second daughter and, since Rebecca began the transition to Ryan, Vivian has all but disowned him. The only way that she will accept Ryan into her presence is if he ‘gives up the nonsense’ and comes back as Rebecca. To make matters worse, Ryan has further riled Vivian by embarking on a search for his natural parents.
Kelly Holliday’s frank and ferociously engaging play is as straightforward as it is complex and as witty as it is disturbing. The fire in the work comes principally from three strong-willed, intransigent characters. Vivian, with her days numbered, feels she can afford to insist on having things her own way. Amanda has little patience for her mother’s seemingly eccentric views and behaviour or her disdain over her new family. Ryan is determined to win Vivian over to the idea of having a son and to have her see that his quest for his birth parents is not a threat to her. As a foil to this trio come the faithful and loving Maggie, whose only motive is to bring the family together one last time, and Barney, who seems perpetually bewildered.
Immediate impressions are stylistic similarity with Harvey Fierstein’s writing in Torch Song Trilogy (especially in the mother-son relationship) and some echoes of Mike Leigh’s Secrets and Lies, as the gradual unfolding of the various sub-plots unveil the final, devastating revelation that leads to the play’s extraordinary conclusion.
There is clever use of flashback as second performers occasionally appear to represent the younger Vivian and Maggie, and this device works a great deal better than the mimed, entr’acte –like sequences that sit between scenes (which slightly arrest the narrative flow and over-extend the piece) and some projected footage which divides our attention between the action and the backdrop.
Holliday directs the cast with natural rhythm and simmering passion. Judy Mandel and Anna Zyla are great verbal sparring partners as Vivian and Amanda, while Melinda Phillips brings subtlety and calm to Maggie and Warrie Leitch has a grounded presence as Barney. Emma Carroll delivers an outstanding performance as Ryan, beautifully capturing the simultaneous anguish and anger of a child who is at once loved and reviled by a parent. The cast is completed by Kim Ogletree and Aliya Allibhai as young Vivian and Maggie, and a cameo for Amu Wang as the doctor.
The play may have grown out of Holliday’s observations about society’s differing views over gender identity and the wounding and healing power of words, but it ends up being about so many more things too. Here is a story filled with richly drawn characters and back-stories, played with genuine commitment and fervour.
Transistor is produced by Dark Horse Theatre Chiang Mai, in association with Chiang Mai Drama Centre, and continues at Hope Street Theatre until 29th July.
Star rating – 4 stars
This review was originally written for publication by Good News Liverpool
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| The cast of Transistor in rehearsal |
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