Ladies Who Wait - Off The Wall Productions (17 August 2023)

My apologies King Henry VIII but the zeitgeist has well and truly turned against you. Taylor Swift's Eras Tour is elevating her to global icon status; Barbie is girlbossing the box office with Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie's stars on the ascendancy; and the Matildas have captivated the hearts of a nation. No time for your beheading histrionics, Your Majesty! And so it is with the original black comedy Ladies Who Wait where Henry is but a painting on the wall as three of his wives, two of his offspring, and the most unlikely duo of ladies-in-waiting take centre stage.   

Playwright Yvette Wall has taken what started life as a 10 minute short play and developed it into a full two act production which is to be commended. I can't say that it entirely worked for me as the humour is very broad, however, there are elements that I enjoyed and with further tweaks the play will continue to evolve. 

There's a nice premise here - two Baldrickesque figures are foisted on, firstly, Anne Boleyn (Emily Howe) the day before her execution and, some twenty years later, they attend to Queen Mary 1 (Jennifer McGrath) who struggles to give fake birth to a fake baby (fake news!). Along the way they are assailed by the ghost of Catherine of Aragon (McGrath), and visited by Jane Seymour and later Lady Elizabeth, soon to be Queen Elizabeth I, both played by Maree Cole. Oh, and there's the Ken of his day, the guard Roger (David Wall) who, on occasion, shuffles in and out mostly bewildered by antics far above his pay grade.  

Which is where a lot of the comedy is generated as our two presumptive heroines Alice (Colleen Bradford) and Agnes (Fiona Forster) play lowly commoners who by happenstance come to be in the presence of royalty with all its politics, pretence, and false grandeur. Nothing like a sharp tongue and tart retort to burst the bubble of the high and mighty. 

There's no doubt Bradford and Forster work exceedingly hard to generate laughs but it felt somewhat hit and miss for mine with a bit too much repetition. There are plenty of crass gags, fart jokes, modern slang, swearing for shock value, and a fair amount of shrieking. They bounce off each other well - Forster with such an expressive face and Bradford playing it a little more slyly - but it's so over-the-top at times that I wanted some introspection or quieter moments of astute observation. More dagger than cudgel or, in the vernacular of the play, more long sword than blunt axe. I did like their old age make-up, wig, and costumes in the second act which were quite striking and sold the time difference well. 

Emily Howe gives her Anne Boleyn a suitably regal air which is aided immeasurably by a clear, theatrical voice which I was quite struck by as the play begins. She plays it mostly straightlaced until Anne is cajoled by her ladies-in-waiting to give the baying crowd some what for. 

Jennifer McGrath is given free rein by director Gino Cataldo to play both Catherine and Mary as larger-than-life figures - the former as a haughty Spanish ghost with an impressive monobrow; the latter as overly needy and whiny. Again, with Agnes, Alice and Catherine/Mary all pitched at such heightened levels the play can be overwhelming, especially if you're sitting in the front row where you're only a metre away from the screeching at times.

Then there's Maree Cole who shines in both her roles with an eye-opening transition from her oblivious Jane Seymour in the first act to the practical and forthright Elizabeth in the second. Cole brings a lovely, light touch to Jane which makes the character instantly likeable and supplies the variation in comic delivery that was welcomed. It's her Elizabeth though that is a standout and changes the dynamic of the production. I loved the robust costume which reinforced the sheer competence and, well, Protestant nature of Elizabeth who calls out her half-sister's nonsense as Mary pretends to give birth. 

There's a stretch when things settle down and Elizabeth and Mary engage in a truly dramatic exchange that caught my attention. This encapsulates what is a pivotal moment in British history as the half-sisters - one Protestant, the other Catholic - battle for the soul of their nation. It's the highlight of the play for mine, in terms of performance and the potential for developing the premise further.

All that's left is for our heroines to enjoy their strawberries and wine as Elizabeth departs to become another global icon for the ages.

Mentions to lighting designer Virginia Moore Price for the nice flourish accentuating moments of suggested violence; the costumes from Hustle and Bustle Costumes and Colleen Bradford; the set artwork of Ursula Kotara, in particular the paintings of Henry and (amusedly altered) Catherine; and it's an unusually classy program by White Mouse Design. 

The play runs until 26 August in the Studio space at the Subiaco Arts Centre. In heartening news for an independent production of an original script it is sold out for the rest of its run.