By Laura Jackson. Aspiring Musical Theatre Company. The Street Theatre. 15 Mar 2015
March is the month that the world celebrates International Women’s Day, but also stops to reflect on the intractable issues that most affect them. Handle It brings some of the most pressing matters affecting young women to centre stage through a fearless one-woman show.
Through a multitude of complex characters that share a connecting storyline, Laura Jackson explores the themes of sexual violence, the misuse and abuse of social media and the damaging social effects of hard-core porn – boldly going where few dare to go.
Handle It plays sleuth to the mystery of fictional teenager Kelsey Armitage, whose night out on the town results in a tragic cascade of events. Compromising pictures of her begin to surface on the internet, while it also becomes clear a sexual assault has taken place – though it’s becoming increasingly unclear if the two are linked.
What I love about this play is that it deftly uses every opportunity possible to inject a meaningful conversation about the issues at hand. Via incredibly illuminating monologues, Jackson gives voice to the traumas women experience every day and confronts the prevailing attitudes that perpetuate them.
The precise timing of the content on the projection screen backdrop (by Brandon Wong) is also crucial to the production. It acts as a giant laptop, exemplifying in ruinous detail the process of Kelsey’s photos ‘going viral’ when they fall into the wrong hands, but also the public conversations taking place around the incident.
Jackson is a magnetic performer and a masterful chameleon, both skilfully crafting and representing a diverse and compelling cast of personalities. There is a staggering amount of depth to each character, and it is quite obvious that a great deal of care went into ensuring their authenticity.
Handle It is a provocative, no holds barred commentary that deconstructs some of the more troubling developments to emerge from our digital age, while using just enough humour to take the edge of the intensity. It’s a fulfilling experience that gives you plenty to consider, without dictating any particular conclusion. For me, this is theatre at its best.
Deborah Hawke
When: Closed
Where: The Street Theatre
Bookings: Closed
