General News
1 August, 2023
Production explores women’s Vietnam experience
TALENT from between Terang and Apollo Bay will collaborate to bring a historic performance to the stage this month.
TALENT from between Terang and Apollo Bay will collaborate to bring a historic performance to the stage this month.
The Terang Theatre Troupe and the Apollo Bay Theatre Collective will jointly host their own performances of the acclaimed ‘Minefields and Miniskirts’.
‘Minefields and Miniskirts’ tells the story of five Australian women who survived, and somehow thrived, during the war in Vietnam.
The production was adapted from the 1993 work of author Siobhan McHugh, who spent over two years interviewing some 50 remarkable women from all sides of the Vietnam war on their experiences.
Helming the theatrical adaptation is acclaimed writer and director Terence O’Connell, who has transformed the oral histories into a collage of the memories centred around five women; a nurse, a church volunteer, a journalist, an entertainer and the wife of a Vietnam veteran.
“It’s a show about these women, but also about their interactions and experiences with men who were there,” he said.
“A lot of it, even thought it’s set in that period, remains current today.
“Some of it is quite dark, but it’s also about the resilience, courage and sense of humour of these women.
“It’s not an evening of horrors.”
Mr O’Connell has been behind the successful production since 2004/2005, when a sold-out season originally premiered at Melbourne’s Malthouse Theatre featuring an all-star cast including Debra Byrne.
It was followed by a yearlong national tour, which won the Drover Award as Most Popular Touring Production, and drew more than 50,000 theatregoers through the doors.
Mr O’Connell, who is currently working on projects as an artist in residence at the Commercial Hotel, has refined this reimagining of ‘Minefields and Miniskirts’ to cater to both the strengths and limitations of a small, intimate country production.
Two groups will host the production; one cast in Terang comprising actors from the Terang Theatre Troupe and Camperdown Theatre Company, the other in Apollo Bay.
The productions will be intimate ‘up-close’ presentations featuring the evocative verbatim interviews accompanied by music of the period, projected images and an atmospheric soundtrack, according to Mr O’Connell.
“There is great talent in Terang,” he said.
“The differences in personality between our Terang performers and Apollo Bay are radically different, which is interesting to see as each performs from the same script.”
The local actors have been inspired by the depth and subtlety of the text and are working to emulate the success of those who’ve gone before them, bringing the great tales of remarkable women to vivid life.
“We’re absolutely loving it,” Timboon’s Robin Vale said.
“The characters are so strong; it’s very rare to find a piece of theatre with five strong female characters with a strong story to tell.
“I’m enjoying being one of them.”
Terang’s Trish Storr said the opportunity to perform had heightened her understanding of often-overlooked aspects of the war.
“I had no idea a lot of this stuff went on,” she said.
“It’s very dramatic throughout every part, so we get to find out so much about what the people over there went through.”
‘Minefields and Miniskirts’ will take to the stage from this month, with performances at the Commercial Hotel on August 11 and 12, and August 25 and 26, plus Sunday matinees, from 7.30pm.
To book tickets contact 0417 592 670 or email les.cameron46@gmail.com.