The Quivering by SacredCOW, July 11, 2007

 What: The Quivering by SacredCOW, produced by La Mama

Where and When: Carlton Courthouse, July 11 to 22, 2007

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

In Homer’s Odyssey, the seductive song of the mythical Sirens was malevolent and deadly. 

The bird-women, with sweet voices, lured hapless seamen onto the rocks. Odysseus evaded this fate by strapping himself to the mast and stuffed his sailors’ ears with wax so they could not hear the temptresses’ song.

The Quivering, by SacredCOW, directed imaginatively by Nikki Heywood, provides another Ancient Greek interpretation. The Sirens’ were invoked in funereal rites and were depicted as with compassionately singing the souls of mortals from the earthly pain of life into death.

Sharelle (Dawn Albinger), Maureen (Julie Robson) and Singrid (Scotia Monkivitch), the three Sirens, appear chanting and seductive, dimly lit and near-naked in a watery landscape. They tease and taunt us, inviting us to a boat journey that awaits us and for which we are unprepared.

The play is an irreverent, titillating blend of ritual, comedy, physicality and lyricism. These accomplished women create an intoxicating chorus, echoing and repeating sounds, words and movements rhythmically and seductively.

Each actor has a quirky style. Sharelle is the wicked, curvaceous temptress; Maureen is a taunting chanteuse straight from the suburbs; Singrid is a cheeky, clown-faced joker.

Albinger and Robson sing haunting melodies while Monkivitch as the Poet simultaneously speaks the lyrics. They are our “Creamy, Dreamy Mermaids” who entice us with their melodies. The trio dress themselves as roadside diner waitresses in uniforms and aprons, perhaps to make weary and fearful travellers feel at ease. They even offer a menu of lamb and roast bird.

But it is not all cosy and comforting. They tease us, saying, “Are you with us? There’s something out there. You know you want it.” Their dialogue turns to the horrors of death, the rotting of flesh and cracking of bones. They perform in an eerie, whitewashed landscape (John Levey OK) with sheets covering rocky outcrops. A cold, steel mortuary table stands in the centre and morticians rituals and funeral rites are performed over their bodies wrapped in white shrouds.

The sound design (Brett Collery, Julie Robson, Catherine Mundy) is unnerving and evocative, incorporating voice, music and sound effects. The white space is washed with projected moving imagery (Suzon Fuks OK) of watery scenes and oceans of floating, phantom figures.

The Quivering is a fascinating, atmospheric and enthralling depiction of the Sirens by an inventive company.

By Kate Herbert