This production contains themes and discussions relating to sexual assault, rape culture, suicide and mental illness, sexual violence and STIs. It also includes violent and explicit body imagery, flashing lights, haze and herbal cigarettes.
You hear a seductive voice begin to talk about lavender tea after the lights go down in the Red Stitch Actors' Theatre. You remain subdued in the darkness as the voice asks how you are and amuses you with the sounds of their house, such as the brush of a wipe across a table and a crackle as they open a packet of biscuits. This is only the beginning of an unusual evening drifting through life in the world of Shhhh.
Red Stitch’s production of Shhhh marks the Australian premiere of American playwright Clare Barron’s latest work. The play follows two sisters, playwright Shareen (Jessica Clarke) and postal worker Sally (Caroline Lee), through the everyday motions of their lives, navigating sex, illness, pleasure and pain.
After its ASMR-charged opening, Shhhh drops us straight into the middle of a conversation as Kyle (Peter Paltos) tells Shareen a gruesome story about a boat accident which reminded him of her. There’s no real sense of a beginning to the story, and it barrels straight into Shareen and Sally’s worlds. The play briefly glimpses into a few of the intimate moments that make up their lives.
A fitting homage to its namesake, the play has a drowsy feel. From the piles of soft blankets and jackets to the pink mountainous backdrop, Romaine Harper’s pastel-infused set and costume design has captured a space beyond the realm of consciousness.
The highlight of this erotically charged production is the cast. All six actors deliver captivating performances, undoubtedly moulded by director Emma Valente. Hayley Edwards and Jess Lu only appear for one scene, as two people chatting openly about sex, consent and condoms in a very public pizza parlour. Their effortlessly real portrayals make you feel like you are sitting in the pizza parlour alongside Shareen, accidentally listening as they share their heartbreaking confessions of the men who have wronged them. Despite the lack of airtime, Edwards and Lu both deliver incredible and unforgettable performances. The pizza parlour scene is a real standout and truly the emotional peak of the play.
Regrettably, the cast is mainly let down by the writing. The story of Shhhh is stuck in a strange limbo between chasing a traditional linear narrative and wanting to give in to something more experimental, resulting in a strange halfway point between the two. Story arcs are started but eventually, fizzle out.
Playwright Clare Barron’s writing shines through individual moments where the actors partake in monologues or dialogues, but overall the play does not explore many new takes on its themes. It attempts to tackle too many issues in its one-act runtime – sex, consent, power, illness, spirituality, existentialism, loneliness – resulting in a lack of depth.
Nevertheless, Shhhh has an excellent cast of actors and will be suited to those wanting to explore the truly bizarre.