Biting Pavlov
By Philip Dean
Directed by David Peachey and Ken Stock
Pandemonium Theatre Productions
Warren Street Theatre, Brisbane
Reviewed by Lynda Hansen

This production, performed in a beautiful old church in Spring Hill by amateur theatre group Pandemonium Productions, has the calibre of direction and acting that warms my appreciation of local theatre. Philip Dean, who also penned Lonesome Cowgirls, has written a sharp, witty and thought-provoking piece.

Biting Pavlov is loosely based on Emile Zola's Therese Racquin, a realist novel that scandalised critics in the 18th century. Today the story-line would raise interest, not eyebrows.

Young Davina (Emma Hynes) lives a joyless life badgered by "mother" (Maree Hehmet), who gives new meaning to being a penny-pinching, god-fearing Christian. "Mother" victimises Davina while doting on sickly Tristram (Stephan Cooper-Fox), to whom Davina is married and forced to play nursemaid. Davina is trapped in a stifling and mundane life. There seems no way out until Harry (Fraser Corfield) appears on the scene.

Harry, a childhood friend and mentor of Tristram, is a good-humoured layabout who captures Davina's heart. They begin an energetic illicit affair. Realising that their only solution is to separate Tristram from his mortal coil, the lovers are consumed by guilt and mistrust. They turn against each other in a final scene that grips the audience to the last moment.

The cat (Janelle Manning) plays the all-seeing conscience of the characters. She speaks to the audience in cynical but realistic terms about the ugly human condition that can arise in desperate times.

Pandemonium's production is a refreshing, multi-layered examination of personal responsibility and its implications.

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