The Blonde, The Brunette and The Vengeful Redhead

By: Robert Hewett

Director: Geordie Johnson

Stratford Festival of Canada

Run: May 17 to September 2, 2007

Studio Theatre

4 ½ Stars

Reviewed By: Kindah Mardam Bey

Director Geordie Johnson says he discovered The Blonde, The Brunette and The Vengeful Redhead in Melbourne, Australia and as each new character transformed onto stage, Johnson thought ‘Lucy, Lucy, Lucy.’ Not just any Lucy, not redheaded Lucille Ball, Johnson was talking about Lucy Peacock, Canadian stage actress and perfect fit for the two hour and ten minute, one woman show and seven (you heard me), seven character changes performance. Everything about this production was interesting and if a theatre goer has reservations about seeing a one man show, throw those reservations out of the window on the way to the theatre. For it is a one man show that sheds away acting bad habits and has an actor vulnerably stand up and admit to their abilities – it turns out that Lucy Peacock’s are quite extensive.

The Stratford Festival of Canada’s first production of this Australian, but immediate international success, has really proved itself proud as even the stage design, music and of course the acting, were well thought out and executed. If only all productions could be as tightly organized and clearly formulated as this version of The Blonde, Brunette and Vengeful Redhead. Perhaps a small cast (of one!) makes the challenge of finely tailored storytelling on stage a success, but it is not always the case; all of this production seemed to handle the tone flawlessly however.

Lucy Peacock, in her seven characters, tells the story of a single event. Redheaded wife Rhonda has just been told her husband has left her and been informed by her best friend Lynette that her husband, Graham, has been having an affair with another woman. Lynette sees Graham with the other woman at the mall food court and tells Rhonda she must confront them. Rhonda is mousy and this act tips her over the edge, what is left in Rhonda’s possession is a bloodied handkerchief and an attack on the wrong woman. Lucy Peacock plays Rhonda at the beginning and the end of the play, both at the time of the event and many years later. Peacock also plays Lynette, Graham, the woman accused of having the affair with Graham, the partner Dr. Alex of the mistaken woman and Peacock also plays her child and the neighbour to the mistaken woman. What unfolds in a superbly wrote play about an event, told in bits and pieces from differing perspectives revealing a little more each time. However, this is not a sleuth story although it has shocking revelations at times, The Blonde, Brunette and Vengeful Redhead is a detailed account of how we each affect another’s life, for better or for worse. The play is both comedy and drama, and an immense amount of deeply compelling heart to it. I would recommend seeing this production in particular, but any production of The Blonde, Brunette and Vengeful Redhead would at very least show a play well wrote and timely.

The stage is lightly dressed with a series of muslin screens with Plexiglas in front that show differing colours and shades, where Peacock would slip behind for a character change. The audience would watch in silhouette Peacock remove clothing and put new outfits on, remove wigs and put new ones one. Each time the audience eagerly anticipated who Peacock would be next in the story; each time we were wrong. This screen was a beautiful addition to the stage both acting as a reflector and a projector at times when images setting the scene were shown. Peacock was constantly captivating as each time she changed into a new character behind the screen, the audience could actually see her transform into a completely different persona. Each character had a prop indicating their presence on stage; when a character left the stage, they left behind a symbol of themselves. By Rhonda’s final speech we see her predecessors and all that they symbolize, which was a nice touch for the audience to keep track of the characters but also a reminder of those who had affected or been affected by the situation the play seeks to unravel.

Stephen Woodjett’s menacing-under-the-surface musical score, with a solitary clarinet playing most of the time, was superbly the right fit for the play. It was whimsy at times and chilling at others, but always set the right mood for the stage.

My previous gushing about Lucy Peacock’s performance really seems to be blatant as to my own thoughts on the acting, but her performance is considerably worth dissecting instead of just throwing accolades about as I have already done. From her head to her toes, Peacock seems to be each part to the letter, when playing slutty neighbourhood bed-hopping Lynette no shadow of beforehand playing the grounded-in-logic-British-accented-lesbian Dr. Alex. Not only range is Peacock’s forum, but also authenticity within each character portrayal. When director Geordie Johnson thought ‘Lucy, Lucy, Lucy,’ he was bang on the mark.

I’d recommend this production two-fold, for North Americans interested in seeing The Blonde, Brunette and The Vengeful Redhead onstage and this production in particular because Lucy Peacock brings so much to the performance. The Blonde, Brunette and The Vengeful Redhead was a delight to watch!