Starting with an emigration from England to Australia in 1965 and spanning four generations of women, this is a play essentially about love and letting go.
The play focuses initially on Jennifer and her mother Dotty as Jennifer leaves for a new life ‘down under’, and then we follow her journey, her mother’s, and her daughter’s as they face life, loss and cancer.
Two women, Christine Firkin (the writer of the piece) and Kay Proudlove (lyrics and music), play all the characters at various ages and stages of their life in matching dresses with often just a change of hairstyle or cardigan to signal which character they are.
At the beginning, this was a little confusing until the story got into its stride, especially with much time shifting and no linear plot making it all a bit hard to follow.
But as the performance progressed and the actors got into their stride, the story became both funny and poignant as each generation faced their own challenges and heartache.
The story was also helped along with original songs sung by both actors to guitar accompaniment by Kay and with the use of a large casket of props.
This is a play with a lot of heart and much to say about the amount of change women in particular have to face throughout their lives. Although it felt a little under-rehearsed on the first night, I’m sure it will get more confident as the run progresses.