On Wednesday 6 June, the City of Boroondara Library Service hosted a
solo play titled Playing Miss Havisham. It was held at Kew Library.
Written by Helen Moulder and Sue Rider, in 2010 Helen showcased Playing Miss Havisham in the UK, France
and USA; in the middle of this year she is touring Australia with the play as
part of celebrations for Charles Dickens' 200th birthday. Helen is a member of Willow Productions, a
small company based in New Zealand.
Playing Miss Havisham is about Claudia, a woman who learns to weigh up her expectations. When an eccentric Irish film-maker arrives to
make a film of Charles Dickens' Great
Expectations, Claudia is keen to audition for the role of Miss Havisham as
she sees it as a way out of her humdrum existence. As she prepares for the role, Claudia finds
her own life takes on the twists and turns of a Dickens novel. She is forced to examine her relationships
and expectations of life as things change, sometimes dramatically, around
her.
This was an inventive piece of theatre. A thoughtful
engagement with a literary classic, there was a weaving of themes dealing with
the complexities and frustrations of modern life and consideration of the human
condition. The perspectives and actions
of a number of characters were played out.
A mature, professional singer and actor, Helen
Moulder has been working in theatre, radio and film in the UK, New Zealand and
Australia for 37 years. As people were
leaving, there were many comments about her considerable skill and versatility as
she drew us into Claudia's (and Miss Havisham's) world. The play had a fine balance of comedy,
quirkiness, gravity and wistfulness, and the audience's attention (and moments
of interaction) suggested a quiet recognition of Claudia's options and
expectations and identification with the final possibilities that presented
themselves.
In the National Year of Reading, and to mark
the 200th birthday of Charles Dickens, this was a unique event in
our programme which was extremely well-received.
McBride, Sue.
