More than 150,000 convicts were shipped to Australia from England in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was tough for the men. And it was even worse for the women, who made up 20 per cent of the deportees and were routinely forced into prostitution to survive.
The plight of these women is portrayed with gritty realism in the drama Female Transport, now undergoing a superior revival at Langham Court Theatre.
The terrific set, by retired architect Doug Craig, is one of the best I’ve seen at this theatre. Directed by Montgomery Bjornson with sensitivity and intelligence, this production is worth a look.
I confess I had never heard of U.K. playwright Steve Gooch. His 1973 play has been popular over the years, having been produced almost 500 times worldwide. One can see the attraction.
Gooch writes about these prisoners with humanity and (fortunately) a complete lack of sentimentality. And the show is a rare gift for female actors, offering six lead roles that are diverse and interesting.
It’s no light evening of entertainment. Although there are moments of levity and compassion, Female Transport (105 minutes long with no intermission) is tough sailing.
Six female convicts are locked in the hold of a ship bound for Australia, a six-month journey. They are prostitutes, fraudsters, card sharks; still, one suspects they’re also society’s victims. These women are shackled, rations are meagre. The crew treats them like chattels — and that’s if they’re lucky. The ship’s sergeant, played with appropriate bluster by Graham Roebuck, is quick with the whip and assumes the right to rape is a job perk.
This ensemble cast is uniformly strong. The convicts are well played by Demelza Randall, Deirdre Tipping, Melissa Taylor, Isobel Scott, Taryn Lees and Sarah Cashin. There is not a single weak link here. On Thursday night, each had fine moments; each was utterly convincing.
A certain toughness (leavened with sprinkles of compassion and tolerance) must be conveyed for these characters to work. These actors delivered.
One of the evening’s most moving moments was when Tipping, playing Madge, sang a lovely sad song following a tragedy on the ship.
Good attention is paid to accents; the women’s speech has a convincing Cockney lilt. Ian Simms, playing a surgeon forced to compromise his morals, caught his character’s upper-class cadences. Worthwhile performances were also offered by David Biltek as the captain, and Alex Judd, who was able to convey the sweetness of a 16-year-old cabin boy not yet corrupted by a corrupt system.
The set of a ship’s hold is marvellously detailed and authentic-looking. We see a massive mast, barrels, rigging, a glowing stove. When the vessel encounters a storm, water squirts over the unhappy captives.
One quibble: a large stovepipe causes sightline problems for several scenes acted behind it. Yet overall, it’s a design that would be the pride of any professional theatre company.
What: Female Transport
Where: Langham Court Theatre
When: To March 19
Rating: 4 1/2 stars (out of five)