Review by Sophie Wilby
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Directed by Janaina Leite and Lara Duarte in collaboration with Clean Break the world premiere of The Trials and Passions of Unfamous Women is brought to Brixton House as part of London International Festival of Theatre 2024 (LIFT).
I truly admire Clean Break as a theatre company. Their mission of changing lives and minds through theatre is an inspiring one, as is their celebration of women’s voices and particularly, voices that are often unheard. Fundamentally, the exploration of women and criminalisation will always be an interesting one for me and one which I wholeheartedly champion.
My difficulty here, however, is a question of whether The Trials and Passions of Unfamous Women is trying to do a little too much within this exploration of women and criminalisation. In the promotion for it, it has been described in several different ways including as “an immersive theatre experience that blurs the lines between theatre and justice, exploring the consequences women face when they dare to transgress societal norms” and as an exploration of “women [throughout history] driven by a passion [who] have navigated the boundaries of legality and morality, facing judgment in both public trials and private spheres”. It has also been sold as questioning “what is justice, and who has the power to decide” as well as exploring how justice is weighted against women as they are criminalised harsher than men for certain crimes and how “the justice system has direct consequences in women’s lives”. And unfortunately, I have been left questioning the extent to which it successfully achieves any of this.
The production opens with an option to ‘promenade’ around a moodily lit room. In the centre is a stack of chairs and in four corners around the edge stand four women (Athena Maria, Dominique Lavine Wood-Whyte, Sarah-Jane Dent, and Yvonne Wickham), costumed quite beautifully by Alex Barry with inspiration from Greek mythology. Kim Teresa (KT) Marsh adopts a jester-like character, instructing the audience to approach them, and speak to them freely before later asking them to make their way to the nearest available ‘goddess’. Two ‘goddesses’, in opposite corners, then perform a short speech with the ‘goddess’ adjacent to them launching into their own speech afterward. You only get the chance to listen to two of the four, however, of which I experienced a Medusa-like figure who spoke of beheading men, with suggestions of an unhealthy relationship with alcohol or illicit substances, and an Athena-like figure who spoke more vaguely of creative expression through art, and being at war.
These speeches were not in sync, however, meaning that as one finished, another on the opposing side of the room continued so that you were jarringly able to hear the conclusion of another story. Whilst an interesting idea, the space itself was relatively small, meaning that it was difficult to focus on one ‘goddess’ speaking as the other could be overheard - to the extent that it felt that they were trying to talk over each other in increasingly loud volumes. The speeches themselves also felt a little confused, and it wasn’t entirely clear what they were aiming to achieve from them. The ‘goddesses’ then come together to depict mythological ‘furies’ who were responsible for the judgement of mortals, which leads into the second ‘act’ of the show wherein the bonfire-esque stack of chairs is dismantled and used to create a courtroom set-up whilst a recorded voice explains this setup, and the reasoning for it.
This ‘second act’ attempts to explore the justice system in the modern day. There is some discussion of the history of the system itself, and how it has developed into what we see today but much of the segment is devoted to a mockery of the prompt and ceremony associated with courtrooms - namely the gown and wig. The immersion continues in this ‘act’ as a mock jury is selected from the audience based on trivial characteristics such as who had ‘cried in the last 10 days’ in an attempt to question whether a jury selection can be truly random if it relies on an individual being part of the electoral roll. This jury is invited to pass judgement as if they were a part of The Caucasian Chalk Circle wherein a judge decides that a cruel game is the solution to a question of child custody. It is here that the question of who has the power to deliver justice is touched upon, however, it does fall a little more on the side of explaining what the audience likely already knows about the justice system than it is a real engagement with the question.
As part of this ‘act,’ we are also told what appears to be real stories from some of the cast, which was perhaps the most moving and poignant element of the production. And herein too lies the difficulty I feel in attributing a star rating to this production. There was certainly a consistent undercurrent of raw, vulnerability throughout the show that clearly derived from the lived experience of the cast members. If you were to review these moments in isolation, then it is easily worthy of 5 stars for the captivating way that the cast recounts their experiences.
But unfortunately, as a whole, the production feels muddled and confused. It is as though it is overwhelmed by its attempt to try and express so many things, all of which are pretty complex, at once. It feels disjointed, and it is unclear really what point it wants to make. The connections between mythology, history, and present realities aren’t explicit or strong enough to create the necessary consistent narrative. Whilst the cast excels in their moments of vulnerability, demonstrating a real knack for storytelling, this is too infrequent and the power of these moments is lost in between more confusing side-scenes. For example, the references to Joan of Arc were interesting, but with the title of The Trials and Passions of Unfamous Women, more time could have been spent on these “Unfamous Women” than recounting the history of very famous women. Though moments of commentary were similarly interesting, clear and valid criticisms of the justice system are raised, only to then feel lost.
The third ‘act’ transitions from the courtroom to a more communal space, with chairs placed in a round for the cast to lounge on as a smoke machine works overtime to fill the space with a constant haze. As the cast members undress into plain night clothes, there is a general discussion between them which hints at each of their own stories without really divulging any further information that might help us connect strongly. The cast ‘draws with words’ in what could be quite a beautiful scene, though is again dampened by a feeling of disjointedness. Though this was an immersive, somewhat compelling experience, it again just felt a little disconnected from what had come before.
The Trials and Passions of Unfamous Women is certainly a theatrical experience - it is an immersive performance, boldly directed by Janaina Leite and Laura Durate which is enhanced by striking set and costume designs by Alex Berry. The moments of compelling, emotional storytelling shine through and I truly respect the work of Clean Break and the courage it takes to share personal stories which should always be applauded. It is certainly an interesting concept and though the execution does feel disjointed and confused, it has nevertheless left me reflecting on the criminal justice system which perhaps above all else, was the aim of this production.
The Trials and Passions of Unfamous Women plays at Brixton House until June 22nd
For tickets and information visit https://brixtonhouse.co.uk/shows/the-trials-and-passions-of-unfamous-women-2/
Photos by Ellie Kurttz