REVIEW | These Demons, Theatre503

Reviews

5 Oct

★ ★ ★ ★

Reviewer - Russell

*Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in return for an honest review

These Demons is a terrifically entertaining play, with superb performances all round, but it has to be said, Olivia Marcus -as Leah- steals the show with her cheeky, intense, stroppy, melodramatic, funny, moody, unpredictable and superb comedic skills. It’s worth coming along for her facial expression alone.

Strong support from Liv Andrusier (Ride: The Musical) as her older almost perfect sister-Danielle - and Ann Marcuson as her “Jewish-witch” Aunt -Mirah. Rachel Bellmans' script is as sharp as the kitchen knife Leah accidentally cuts her hand with in a heated sisterly spat.

It's funny and scary and covers a range of themes from family relationships, anti-semitism, jealousy, sisterhood, abandonment. All handled skillfully and gently in a tense horror, drama, comedy.

Set inside and outside of a slightly dilapidated scary house in the woods, the home of the recluse aunt Mirah.

Aunt Mirah is a writer about Jewish mythology and demonology and exorcism. She has lived in the cottage for a number of years but hasn’t been welcomed by the suspicious local community. A recent unexplained 'event' has put her in hospital. Leah has run away to the cottage to find and punish the perpetrator of her aunt's misfortune in her own idealistic and tempestuous way.

Danielle has tracked her down and her intention is to take her little sister back home as they've all been worried sick about her. Leahs’ reaction to all this is that no one really cares about her and she isn't going back. Some lovely to-ing and fro-ing between the sisters establishes how much the family cares about Leah and how unreasonable her behaviour is and how tenuous her grasp on reality is becoming.

The cottage is on its last legs and the creaking and the scampering sounds and eerie noises create a real tension, and you’re never really sure whether the sounds are real or just in Leahs’ mind.

The relationship between the two bickering loving sisters is captured perfectly with older protective sister Danielle’s fury almost palpable at Leahs’ petulance and unpredictability and idealism.

If Olivia is drawing on her own teenage behaviour then your heart must go out to her poor suffering parents as every mood swing, every misconstrued slight is captured and expressed beautifully

This is the finest comedy representation of a moody stroppy teenager since Kathy Burke's Perry in Kevin and Perry.

But played with realism, the laughs just happen naturally through the brilliant performances and the superb writing. Everyone involved has their own funny lines and every one of the funny lines lands and is appreciated by the very warm and receptive full house at Theatre 503. The tension builds slowly throughout the eighty five minute piece and the dramatic and mildly gruesome climax does not disappoint.

Theatre 503 is supportive of new writing and this is exactly the sort of work that needs to be seen. Not because of the subject matter, but because of the skillful way the writer has built such real and recognisable relationships.

Directed by Jasmine Teo and a very clever set design by Sophie Firth, These Demons is probably the only play you’ll ever see with “..Sixteenth-century Jewish exorcisms” as a theme and it’s a real treat. Go see.

At Theatre503 until 16 October.