2002: Adult Child/Dead Child by Claire Dowie.

Adult Child/Dead Child by Claire Dowie.  Performed by Alexis Beebe, directed by Herman Pretorius. Street Theatre Studio April 25 - May 4, 8.30pm.

   
    I'm glad the writer was originally a stand-up comedian: otherwise Adult Child/Dead Child might have remained just a worthy monologue.  Actually, the title should be A Dog Called Benjie. It is only at the point of comic self-realisation near the end that the play becomes genuinely theatrical.

    This is not a criticism of this production.  The writing creates an effect as if the actor is miming the character as she tells her story.  This is reinforced by occasional disembodied voice-over repeats of lines reflecting on the child's experience, later picked up by the child as she gains adulthood.

    There is a cleverness in this structure, but it is not truly dramatic until the connection is made between the three Benjies: two dogs and an imaginary friend.  At this point we stop watching a rather polemical piece about the mistreatment of a child growing up with dissociative identity disorder (DID) and suddenly find ourselves relating to a real character who has found a way to cope in a world which surrounds her with fear.

    The skill in Beebe's acting is in her ability to extract every nuance out of the lines, and especially the repeats of the lines.  The mood changes with each attempt on the child's part to take control of her situation, and each consequent knockdown.  She achieves a nice sense of the changes through childhood and teenage years, and the extra layer of awareness which adulthood provides.

    Clinical psychologist Dr Ross Wilkinson seems to make an excuse in the program notes: "one does not necessarily expect a scientifically accurate portrayal of psychological disorders" in a play.  However, my concern is more that a monologue restricts us to the character's perceptions of the truth.  She leaves us inclined to blame her parents for causing her psychological problem, yet in adulthood she understands she needs drugs to keep her mental state stable.  Which are we to believe - nature or nurture?  I think a much more complex drama is required to deal properly with this material.

    But Beebe's performance is well worth 80 minutes of your time.

© Frank McKone, Canberra