Bombed out

Bombed out

Love and Bombshells
Presented by Impact TheatreWritten and directed by Bernie Sheehan
Showing for a two week season at Pilgrim Theatre, Sydney
Reviewed by Kath Tucker

Love and Bombshells could have been an important contribution to the visibility of lesbian theatre and of lesbians in theatre. It could have dealt in a refreshing, non-stereotypical way with issues faced by lesbians. Unfortunately, it wasn't and it didn't.

Amateur theatre is an important genre in a society in which theatre has traditionally been an exclusive form of entertainment and analysis, restricted either by cost or by its inaccessibility to most audiences. I've seen many very good amateur productions, with high quality performances which created a real atmosphere, cleverly

scripted with silences that spoke volumes. In Love and Bombshells, you got the feeling the actors couldn't wait to get the words out, in case they forgot them.

Various attempts to make a point or get an issue across, like the attempt to do something about apathy within the community, got lost. The attempt to deal with the issues came across as cliched, stereotyped and superficial.

Other productions in Sydney this year have contributed to the growing visibility of lesbian theatre. I hope there will be more. But to make the effort worthwhile, they need to be better done than this one.

From GLW issue 61