Review: The Deplorables at Theatre Works
Review by Susanne Dahn
If our names and lives are not recorded or remembered, can we still make a difference and leave a mark in the world ? The Deplorables takes an unambiguously cracking shot with the straightest of bats that we can.
On 7 April, 1874 at the Bendigo Easter Fair in central Victoria, two female teams of cricketers played a charity cricket match to raise funds for Bendigo’s destitute and suffering.
At one level it was an extended family affair with the local Rae family organising the event and the Blues team captained by Barbara Rae and the Reds team by older sister Nellie Rae.
But the public furore that was ignited by the match surprised and shocked the whole country. The reverberations might still be with us today.
Women’s cricket matches had been played in England since the 1600s, but in Australia it took until 1905 for the first women’s cricket association to be formed. Those 22 desirous lady cricketers in 1874 may have been ahead of their time, though at the time they fully believed what they were doing was completely ordinary.
There is finally a statue in Bendigo of one of these women. We don’t know all their names (though we can guess), their fitness levels (did they have arthritis, sciatica?), their motivations (getting away from the butcher?), but we do know that they were extraordinary women doing extraordinary things and that it was extremely stupid and ordinary men who tried to stop them.
Skin of our Teeth Productions is an award-winning, female-led, independent theatre company based in Geelong that specialises in both new works and adaptations that tell stories that have been lost or stolen, about people forgotten or sidelined and who might otherwise be left without a voice. Lights under bushel with this crew ? Not a chance!
This production is written and directed by Christine Davey inspired by the book Bowl the Maidens Over by Louise Zedda-Sampson which gives the factual account of that first game.
After a memorable premiere in Bendigo in 2025 (with descendants of the first teams in the audience!) Skin of our Teeth has been developing and touring The Deplorables and it is now playing its final season at Melbourne’s Theatre Works.
The seasoning of the work over this time is evident - it is now a wonderfully entertaining, infectious and enlightening piece of theatre delighting audiences with what can happen when women believe in themselves.
Davey’s work is written with such verve, such crackle, that it leaps from the stage, adds and embellishes in a true/sometimes not true but theatrically sparkling render of what has become so fundamentally timeless - the enduring effort to belittle women.
Davey’s direction brings us a stimulating set, brilliant use of props (loved the mustache), energetic physical theatre and a cast that has been empowered to execute this fast-paced tribute to the two pioneering first elevens at the highest level of skill in theatrical performance.
Musical collaborator Tess Parker has created both the beautiful music and the movement in this play. The choral chant and the end anthem are first class musical stand outs in this work and the hello my new friend ballad is very sweet. Parker is also an accomplished performer and stepped in to the role of J. Murdoch on opening night bringing class, talent and evident adaptability to the role.
The whole on-stage ensemble soar in their unity, energy, comic timing, playful pantomime as well as engagement in the sacred task of remembering displaying both great humour and deep solemnity.
Marie-Claire Tchernomoroff as Barbara Rae showcases her range from a five year old to grow as happy as a queen as a hero of the story. Her stage presence and voice command are impressive.
Mary Steuten as Nellie Rae and Marita Williams Seaton as Emily are both exemplary and bright performers fully embodying their roles in all their physicality and strong musicality, true all-rounders.
Danae Reid as Miss Gerber brings both vulnerability and strength to the role, a charming performance. And Aeonie Ostik Smith as Katie Petrie is superb, a great physical performer who can flirt with the bat, be angry and precise to the point of danger and fully sing up a storm.
See this show if you can get a ticket - it’s fierce, it’s funny, it’s provocative, it’s joyous. In a world that truly is as crazy as a bucketful of hammers, this show is without fear and delivers bucket loads of fun.
