Girls Gothic Gathering

I recently spoke to actor Maude Davey who will be visiting Tasmania soon with the production ‘The Flood’. The Flood is a Gothic Australian play about the lives of three women, the mother Janet, and her two daughters Dorothy and Catherine.

‘The Flood’ of the title refers to the literal flood that is affecting the land as well as a previous pivotal flood in 1972 when the man of the house Brian, Janet’s husband and the girls father went missing and metaphorically the flood also refers to the flood of emotions and revelations that come to light upon the visit of Catherine to her mother and sister.

Maude Davey has strong Tasmanian connections with her husband David being a Tasmanian and her uncle Richard now living in Strahan. Maude was in Tassie earlier in the year to celebrate with some performances for the anniversary of Salamanca market and next month she will again visit the market as a tourist and also catch up with relatives when she is not making her debut at the Theatre Royal in ‘The Flood’.

‘The Flood’ is Australian Gothic in that it deals with ‘settlers in an alien landscape that is often harsh and unforgivng’. Jackie Smith the writer comes from rural NSW and is committed to writing about country people and exploring their truths of which this play is to some, frighteningly real. At a question and answer session for the play Jackie found a remarkable recognition by audiences with this story.

The story is about the three woman, the two that remained with a husband and father who cruelly treated the animals as he did humans and some unpleasant incidences of this are recounted in the play . Dorothy the elder sister sent her younger sister Catherine away to protect her and although the two sisters love each other there is often some fierce dialogue between them.

Meanwhile Janet their mother may or may not be suffering from some degenerative disease and is under the belief that she killed her husband. Dorothy encourages her mother to believe this, perhaps in some way hoping the cathartic nature of it will help her mother overcome some of the guilt she feels in not being able to protect her daughters. What really happened to Brian, Janet’s husband is finally revealed.

Maude says the language in the play is so naturalistic the words just fall out of the mouth. The play is not totally grim, there is a fair share of humour which the audience laughs along with but there are also the moments when a more sombre silence is required.

Other elements which increase the Gothicism of the play are the mystery of the identity of the Oleander man , a story which scares children and the representation of the Kraken a powerful spiritual force that originates in the ocean and perhaps provides a fitting metaphor for this drama, itself a powerful piece that originates in secrets and repressed emotions that in time become The Flood

The Flood plays at The Theatre Royal on August 10 and ll.
Paula Xiberras