“There are better ways of dealing with my trauma than writing about it” quips Frankie in Pear-Shaped. Perhaps, but not nearly as much fun. Or provocative. Pear-Shaped deals with the topical themes of eating disorders, body image and the impact on mental health.
Co-written by Ziggy Resnick (who plays Frankie) and Miranda Middleton, and presented by Rogue Productions, Pear-Shaped was given the opportunity of a test run in front of a live audience at Monkey Baa Studio in Darling Harbour. The intention was to sound out the flow of the shifting script, after it’s highly successful season in Melbourne.
In our podcast earlier this week, Ziggy and performer Deborah Galanos revealed what planted the seed behind this semi-autobiographical story that takes inspiration from Alice in Wonderland.
“In the beginning it didn’t really have anything to do with Alice in Wonderland,” Ziggy says. “Once we made the connection, Alice kept popping up…there’s all these connections to food. And to me, there’s always something interesting about taking a piece of classic text and remoulding it.”
Deborah adds: “there’s definitely a connection to food and love. In a rich culture, food is regarded as the ultimate gesture of love to sustain life, when previous generations suffered hunger due to war and famine.”
Deborah plays a multitude of roles in the show, including Frankie’s mother and grandmother who are eager to share an abundance of love and food with their family.
The script reading I attended didn’t feel all that much different from a fully staged production, except with the aid of the script in the actors’ hands. It goes to show good theatre comes from good storytelling, which this show has plenty of in spades (and hearts).
With a flourishing start that earned a multitude of laughs, Pear-Shaped promises to fill big appetites for innovative theatre when it finally comes to full fruition.
Pear-Shaped (Staged Reading) took place 3 & 4 November at Monkey Baa Studio in Darling Harbour.
To find out more about this production and to keep up to date with its progress, go to https://www.rogueprojects.com.au/pear-shaped.
You can also access the program here.