And given that 2018 is the 100 year anniversary of when women in Britain ("over the age of 30, meeting certain property qualification") were granted the right to vote, this one woman play written and performed by Joanne Hartstone and directed by Nicholas Collett feels all the more appropriate.
Especially since she was a name I wasn't familiar with, and she was born and raised here in South Australia.
On a related note, I also had no idea that women in SA had the right to vote and were the first to be able to stand for parliament in 1895.
Hartstone does a fantastic job embodying Matters, not only through a very proper British accent (even more difficult because Matters was a trained elocutionist), but also through a very energetic physicality.
Initially I was worried that the story was jumping too quickly from one moment of her life to another, but the initial jumps just lay in who she is before the show really gets down to explore it. Also by the end of the play you realise that while Matters had passions that lasted throughout her entire life, she also jumped quickly from one thing to the next, so it feels appropriate in that way.
Tom Kitney's production/set design is great, allowing Hartstone to use and adapt pieces of set dressing into other items as she tells her story... it feels very theatrical, but in the best possible way (especially given that Matters definitely had a flair for the dramatic).
Likewise the costumes by Nikki Fort seem period appropriate but also allow for various costume and character changes throughout the show.
I also need to give Hartstone addition kudos for finishing the play after it was halted for a good half hour when a woman in the audience was taken ill. Not only did she calmly stop everything and get the woman assistance (and kudos to the staff at Holden Street Theatre for everything they did), but she came back once the situation had been taken care of and picked up right where she left off.
yani's rating: 4 sashes out of 5
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