Once is enough?

Once a Catholic
By Mary O'Malley
Directed by Jocelyn Speight
The Rep Theatre, Newtown, Sydney
Until May 8
Reviewed by Alwyn Lewis

Once a Catholic takes a humorous look at the bewildering dichotomy of education that was the lot of Catholic girls in the '50s.

Mother Peter, ably played by Suzie Stevens, subjugates her 15-strong class with a mixture of dogma and terror, allowing us only momentarily to suspect that these are the same methods she uses to control her own human sexuality.

Fervour drives Mother Basil (Megan Fry) to conduct the dissection of the reproductive organs of a female rabbit in a biology class with obvious disdain.

Melina Economidis plays voluptuous 15-year-old Mary McGinty, half-convinced of the teachings of the church, half swayed by the smooth talking of her streetwise boyfriend Derek (Stephen Jenner).

It's naive Mary Mooney (Lesley-Anne Philps) who convinces us to feel sympathy for her. Innocent queries incur wrath: she must be warped to ask such questions. Her parents' inability to afford the correct school uniform invites mirth, and her one slight sexual encounter devastates her.

Well directed by Jocelyn Speight, the play benefits from a simple but effective set design. Coupled with the theatre-in-the-round format, this encourages the obviously identifying audience to participate in the action, all under the eagle eye of Mother Peter.

This article was posted on the Green Left Weekly Home Page.
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