SHIT (fortyfivedownstairs) ★★★1/2
Patricia Cornelius has a passion for putting unlovely characters on stage. It has almost become an end in itself. Here she chooses, as her anti-social subjects, three violent, foul-mouthed women, all from broken families or foster homes, all victims of sexual and physical abuse, all bruised down to their moral core.
Billy (Nicci Wilks), a brawler and a bawler, picks fights wherever she can, always talking at maximum volume. She sees herself as a realist, someone who has shredded every last illusion about the world and her situation in it. She has never cried about anything or anyone. Then there's Bobby (Sarah Ward), quieter than Billy but just as tough, or perhaps tougher. She only gets worked up about one subject: women. She hates them, or says she does. In today's jargon, she has internalised misogyny. Finally, there's Sam (Peta Brady). She likes a good cry, feels bad for her junky mum and still holds onto some hope for a better future. Maybe she'd even like to have a baby. Bobby and Billy reckon she's hasn't really grown up.
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