A profound and poetic sense of loss hangs over The Idiot Colony. It does not generate outrage but sadness and pity, and that is its strength.
Claire Coache, Cassie Friend and Rebecca Loukes make up RedCape Theatre and they have devised this piece. They play long-term inmates in a mental hospital, committed there on what were considered moral grounds. Research for the show began with a chance remark about women who had had babies by American GIs being locked away.
Centred in the hospital’s hairdressing salon, The Idiot Colony weaves stories of loss and of unfulfilled lives. The three actors bring their characters out of dim shadows, making their lives less remote, less distant and giving them playful, impish humour. They also play nurses and then the contrasts are stark. The humiliating institutional routines have an awful severity. Watching Rebecca Loukes, as patient Victoria, taking a bath with absolutely no privacy will shock, and it should. These stories might be from times gone by, but they have a strong resonance.
There is tremendous depth and care in the physical playing and frequently the character movements are more powerful and revealing than the dialogue. The action opens and closes with the three women combing their hair to cover their faces. Hair styles and shifting hair movements become a vital part of the choreography.
A skilfully knit soundscape has Glenn Miller tunes merging with hits of the eighties and the sounds of an institution. It is all so very affecting.
Production information can change over the run of the show.
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